BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Ali Leach (Stowe, Vt.) scored a goal and added an assist to help pace the second-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over seventh-seeded Western New England in a Commonwealth Coast Conference quarterfinal round contest Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field.
With the win the Leopards improve to 13-3-3 and will host a semifinal round contest on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. against either third-seeded Endicott or sixth-seeded Salve Regina. The Golden Bears see their season come to an end with a 6-11-3 record.
The Leopards scored on the second shot of the contest as senior Amanda Weinberger (Colchester, Conn.) netted her team-leading ninth marker of the season at 9:22. Classmate Mary Pastorelli (Whitesboro, N.Y.) sent a long through ball down the middle of the field where Weinberger deposited a shot in the lower left corner of the net.
Despite holding an 8-4 shot advantage over the first 45:00, Wentworth was unable to add onto its lead. In the 27th minute, junior Emily Richard (Fremont, N.H.) fired a shot off the crossbar where Weinberger shot the rebound, however sophomore Marissa Veilleux (Newington, Conn.) made a save.
Wentworth wasted little time in the second half adding to its lead when Leach scored just 53 seconds into the stanza. Freshman Sidney Brogan (Los Angeles, Calif.) sent a pass along the left side to Leach, who rifled a shot to the upper right corner.
Less than two minutes later Leach assisted on sophomore Madyson Reno's (Simi Valley, Calif.) goal. Leach fed Reno who fired a shot from the top of the box and went off Veilleux's hands and in.
Sophomore Micaela Robinson (Goshen, N.Y.) made three saves to pick up the shutout. Veilleux made four saves in 68:43 while freshman Alexandra Lemekha (Stamford, Conn.) made four saves over the final 21:17. Wentworth had a 20-7 advantage on shots while Western New England had the edge on corner kicks, 4-3.
