PACE AND LE MOYNE VICTORIOUS IN KICK-OFF CLASSIC OPENER
Courtesy of Anthony Ramos, Pace University Asst. SID
Briarcliff, NY (8/25/07) Both Pace University and Le Moyne College were victorious in day one of the 2007 Pace University Kick-Off Classic. The Setters defeated Dominican College 4-2 in game one, while the Dolphins defeated Saint Thomas Aquinas College 5-1 in the second game. Pace and Le Moyne both move to 1-0 on the season, while Dominican and St. Thomas Aquinas both fall to 0-1.
Pace got on the board early as junior Tiffany Robinson (Shelton, CT/Shelton) opened the classic netting a goal in the first two minutes of the game, blasting a shot from the left side into the bottom corner of the net. The Chargers would even the match in the next few minutes as junior Marie LaMaida (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks) slid her shot past the keeper. Freshman Jacklyn Munson (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central) would give Pace a 2-1 lead heading into the half, scoring her first collegiate goal.
Another Setter newcomer, Cynthia Mendoza (Costa Mesa, CA/Costa Mesa) helped Pace put the game away scoring a pair of goals in the second half for a 4-1 lead. Her first goal came at the 54:16 mark, while her second goal came minutes later at the 69:36 mark. The final goal of the game came with about seven minutes left in the game as junior Michelle Cusano (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) found freshman teammate Sierra Kader (Bethany, CT/Amity).
The Setters controlled the tempo throughout the game out shooting the Chargers 20-9. Both keepers played the entire 90 minutes as junior Rosa Centurion (Mamaroneck, NY/Rye Neck) made eight saves for the visitors and sophomore Jacqueline Gogel (Whippany, NJ/Whippany Park) made a pair of saves for the home team.
In game two, Le Moyne struck early and often as the Dolphins put up a four spot in the first half. Junior Meg Turley (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) scored on a feed from teammate Ashley Zaremba (Watertown, NY/Immaculate Heart) with just a 1:11 into the game. Megan O'Shea netted the second goal of the game at the 13:12 mark assisted by freshman Riane Fletcher (Lisbon, NY/Lisbon). Zaremba (17:11) and Christina Harrison (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) (32:53) scored the final two goals of the half, both unassisted. The Spartans would get on the board at the 34:42 mark on a breakaway goal from junior Stacy Samora (Sloatsburg, NY/Suffern), heading into the half with a 4-1 deficit.
Neither team was able to muster much offense in the second half mostly due to the heat, until Katelyn Moran (Watertown, NY/Immaculate Heart) connected on a pass from teammate Caitlin O'Rourke (Orchard Park, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) at the 82:01 mark.
The Dolphins controlled the pace out shooting the Spartans 37-6, while holding a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks. Junior netminder Amanda Abbatiello (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) played the entire game for Le Moyne, while St. Thomas Aquinas split time with their keepers as Patricia Roth (Bayside, NY/St. Mary's) started the first half, making 16 saves and Jeannette Gibson (Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland) played the second frame.
The Pace Kick-Off Classic concludes tomorrow, Sunday August 26th as Le Moyne and Dominican will square off at Noon, while Pace and St. Thomas Aquinas will face off in the finale at 2:30 pm. Both games will again be played at Pace Field on the Briarcliff campus of Pace University.