Bay Path Falls to Elms 8-1
CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College freshman midfielder Gianna Gorneault (Springfield, Mass.) scored three goals and junior forward Jennifer Killion (Cambridge, Mass.) netted two goals and assisted on another to help propel the Blazers to a convincing 8-1 victory over Bay Path College in Saturday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's soccer contest at Leary Field.
With the win, Elms has now won four consecutive games to improve to 6-9 overall, 4-2 in NECC action. Bay Path, meanwhile, moves to 4-10 on the season, 3-4 in league action.
Five different Blazers scored in Saturday night's contest and Elms has now outscored its opponents 20-2 during its four-game winning streak.
Elms wasted little time finding its offensive stride as Killion received a short pass from junior forward Erica Griffo (Syracuse, N.Y.) and netted the game's first goal in the left corner of the net just 47 seconds into the contest.
Killion then scored a breakaway goal at the 4:37 mark to put Elms ahead 2-0.
Gorneault then struck for a pair of goals, scoring in the eighth minute on a corner kick by freshman defender Ashley Venancio (Ludlow, Mass.) and then again 10 minutes later after receiving a pass from Griffo, lifting the Blazers' advantage to 4-0.
Sophomore defender Leah Spring (South Hadley, Mass.) capped the scoring for the first period when she controlled a perfect through ball from freshman midfielder Victoria Cebula (Granby, Mass.) and fired the ball into the far right corner of the goal.
Junior defender Brianna Valente (Springfield, Mass.) executed a brilliant run when she corralled a pass from Killion at the 52:49 mark and then blasted the ball to the left side of the goal giving Elms a commanding 6-0 lead.
One minute later, freshman forward Chelsea Carroll (Meridern, Conn.) delivered a through ball to freshman forward Christina Goodchild (East Longmeadow, Mass.) who placed the ball into the right corner of the net for the Blazers' seventh tally of the evening.
Venancio and Gorneault executed another corner kick set, this time with Gorneault finding the nylon on a header to set the score at 8-0 in the 70th minute of action.
Bay Path's Jacqui Siddle (Palmer, Mass.) capitalized on a direct kick just 36 seconds later to put the Wildcats on the board.
Killion has now scored seven goals in the last three games and has totaled 11 for the season.
Janise Shabazz (New Castle, Del.) recorded 10 saves between the pipes for Bay Path, while Elms' freshman net minder Hayley Zisk (Baldwinville, Mass.) turned away five shots in the win.
Gorneault finished with five shots on target while Killion registered four to highlight the Blazers' offensive output.
Siddle and Keelin Dougherty (Northfield, N.H.) notched two shots on net apiece in the losing effort.
Story Courtesy of Elms SID
