BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Valeria Zapata (Pawtucket, R.I.) recorded a hat trick as the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's soccer team erupted for five second-half goals, defeating the University of Maine-Farmington, 6-0, in non-conference action at Sweeney Field.
With the win the Leopards improve to 4-2 on the season while the Beavers slip to 1-3.
In addition to Zapata's three goals, senior Tori Armishaw (Scarborough, Maine) scored a goal and tallied an assist, while sophomore Michelle Murphy (West Islip, N.Y.) and junior Taylor Van Zile (Pine Beach, N.J.) each scored a goal.
After 30 minutes of scoreless action, Armishaw managed to feed a short pass through two defenders to Zapata, as the junior forward slipped the shot under diving Farmington goalkeeper Sam Hatch (Hebron, Maine) for the only goal of the first half. The Leopards out-shot the Beavers 13-3 in the first 45 minutes
Wentworth would score again 15 minutes into the second half, as Murphy sent a shot from 30 yards out to the upper right side of the net. Five minutes later, Armishaw extended the Leopard lead to three with a shot from the right side to the upper left corner.
The Beavers replaced Hatch in net with freshman Haley Murano (Brunswick, Maine), but Wentworth continued the scoring. At 72:11, Zapata netted her second goal of the game off her own rebound. Seven minutes later, Zapata completed the hat-trick off a pass from sophomore Mykaela Scarpace (Marlborough, Conn.) from the top of the box. Wentworth's final goal came off a senior Robyn Pacini (Stoneham, Mass.) corner kick during the final minute that was netted by junior midfielder Van Zile.
Seniors Beverly Farris (Palmer, Mass.) and Nicole Leahey (Warwick, R.I.) combined for the shutout as Farris made one save in the first half and Leahey made three in the second half. Hatch made eight saves in 64:49 before Murano made five over the final 25:11. The Leopards outshot the Beavers by a 30-9 margin and had a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
Wentworth travels to Curry on Saturday night for a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest while Maine-Farmington is at Bowdoin a week from today.
