BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Lauren Francisco (Ludlow, Mass.) scored a pair of goals and junior Jamie Trayer (Oakville, Conn.) made a pair of saves as the Western Connecticut women's soccer team shut out host Wentworth, 2-0, in a non-conference women's soccer contest played on Sweeney Field.
The Colonials, ranked 10th in the latest NSCAA New England Dvision III Women's Soccer Poll, applied pressure early, putting a shot that went wide just 31 seconds into the contest. Western Connecticut broke the ice at 4:29 when senior forward Jillian Duran (Uncasville, Conn.) fed a pass to a streaking Francisco along the left side. Francisco's shot from inside the box beat Leopards junior keeper Jess Gardner (Wilbraham, Mass.).
Holding a 14-2 shot advantage through the first 45:00, the Colonials had several chances throughout the remainder of the first half, including when a header from freshman forward Sarah Menta (Newington, Conn.) sailed high in the 37th minute of play.
Western Connecticut had a golden chance in the 55th minute when a junior midfielder Tracy Sales (Cumberland, R.I.) shot from 15 yards out was headed toward an open net. However, two Leopard defenders made the defensive stop to keep it a 1-0 game.
Francisco notched her second of the game and second of the season at 59:09 when she split the defense and put her shot to the right side of an open net.
The Colonials held a 20-5 shot advantage for the game and a 4-0 advantage on corner kicks. Gardner made six saves for Wentworth.
Winners of two straight, Western Connecticut improves to 3-2 on the year and opens Little East Conference play on Saturday at Southern Maine. Wentworth falls to 2-3 and hosts the University of New England on Saturday in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest.
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
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Western Connecticut. 1 1 - 2
Wentworth........... 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 4:29 WCSU Lauren Francisco (1) (Jillian Duran)
2. 59:09 WCSU Lauren Francisco (2) (unassisted)
Shots: Western Connecticut 20, Wentworth 5
Saves: Western Connecticut 2 (Caitlin Avery 2), Wentworth 7 (Jess Gardner 6; TEAM 1)
