The Western New York Flash kicked off their season last weekend. (Photo courtesy of United Women’s Soccer)
Here are details of how some United Women’s Soccer East Conference teams fared his past weekend.
New England Mutiny 5, Rochester Lady Lancers 1
EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. – Cold, blustery but sunny conditions greeted the New England Mutiny (1-0 UWS East) and the Rochester Lady Lancers (0-2 UWS East) when they took the pitch at East Longmeadow High School Sunday afternoon. The New England offense clicked from the outset, scoring four goals in the first 20 minutes en route to a 5-1 win over the first-year side. Forwards Kate Howarth (two goals) and Abby Sotomayor (goal, two assists) were in solid form while midfielder Riley Houle (goal, assist) had a creative day behind her two teammates.
In the fifth minute, Mutiny youth product and University of Hartford star Julia Carr opened the season with a cracking goal, firing the ball over the reach of goalkeeper Caitie Broderick (five saves) from 30 yards. In the ninth and 11th minutes, Sotomayor and Howarth connected on similar goals,as the former broke down the Lady Lancers with her passing and the latter converting on Broderick. Houle put the game away in the 18th minute when she found a yard of space and placed her shot inside the upper 90 of the goal from 25 yards.
In the 32nd minute, Sotomayor converted an assist from Houle for the 5-0 lead. Rochester scored its first-ever franchise goal in the 68th minute. New England keeper Anne-Marie Ulliac (one save) ran out of goal to break up a Taylor Wingerden scoring opportunity and collided with her. The ball squirted free and forward Ally Sharpe passed it into the open net. The Mutiny held fast the rest of the way for the win, outshooting the visitors (15-3) and with more corner kicks (5-0).
New York Surf 1, Western New York Flash 0
BRONX, N.Y. – The Western New York Flash (0-1-1 UWS East) could not secure a positive result in its second match in two days as the host New York Surf (1-0 UWS East) emerged victorious by a 1-0 score in their franchise home opener at SUNY Maritime on Sunday afternoon. It was not for lack of effort on part of the visitors as the visitors outshot the home side by a 8-2 margin and held the edge in corner kicks as well (6-2). Surf goalkeeper Colleen Hickey made seven saves.
In the 14th minute, Fordham University midfielder Brooke Salmon served in a corner kick. Forward Megan O’Connor chipped in a one-timer into the top left corner past keeper Alana Rossi (one save). To maintain that result over the remainder of the match at Reinhart Field, three Surf players were lauded by their coaching staff: defender Madeline Clappin and midfielders Amy Marron and Faith Daley.
New Jersey Copa FC 6, Rochester Lady Lancers 0
HOLMDEL, N.J. – In a game played under steady, heavy rains and whipping winds with cold temperatures at Saint John Vianney High School, New Jersey Copa FC (1-0 UWS East) dominated possession in a 6-0 win over Lady Lancers Saturday night. The defending East Conference champions saw five players tally goals and outshoot Rochester by a 25-4 margin. Midfielder Katarina Nilsson was tabbed the the NJCFC Woman of the Match after she entered the game in the 54th minute and proceeded to score twice on four shots.
New Jersey led 2-0 at halftime before tacking on four goals in the second half. Forward Lauren Mazich took a game-high six shots including the eventual game-winner in the 29th minute on an assist from 2016 All-UWS selection Jackie Bruno. Marist College star Camille Bowen scored in the 37th minute on an assist from Monmouth University’s Monique Goncalves. Jeanine Nunez (52nd minute) notched the home side’s third of the game before Nilsson was substituted and took the game literally by storm. Gianna Smith finished the scoring on the night in the 85th minute.
Penn State goalkeeper Bristol Pizzuto made two saves in nearly 66 minutes for Copa before being relieved by Andrea Leitner for the final 24 minutes. Caitie Broderick made five saves while surrendering five goals in 70 minutes for the Lady Lancers before Kelsey Brinkel finished the match, making a single stop in her team’s first UWS contest. NJCFC had all seven corner kicks.
Long Island Rough Riders 1, Western New York Flash 1
SOUTH HUNTINGTON, N.Y – For the second consecutive season, the Long Island Rough Riders (0-0-1 UWS East) hosted the official kickoff match of the UWS season. But unlike in 2016 when they dealt New Jersey Copa FC their lone regular season loss, the Rough Riders would instead get a dagger in the heart by the Western New York Flash. As time ticked off the clock, Flash defender Kaelyn Gamel headed a corner kick from midfielder Brittany Heist to notch the vital 1-1 road draw for the visitors at Cy Donnelly Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Amidst rainy and windy conditions, the Rough Riders opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Marist College forward Hope Quinonez beat WNY goalkeeper Megan Tock (four saves) with her shot inside the penalty area for the 1-0 lead. The midfield tandem of Morgan Santoro and Kimberly Marra ran the show for the home side, keeping the visitor’s attack in check. Long Island would out-shoot Western New York by a 6-1 margin and led in corner kicks (6-3) but the Flash would find their way into the game in the second half. Goalkeeper Melissa Guglielmo would not see a shot on her until Heist’s corner kick in the 87th minute.
