LATROBE, Pa. (Sept. 3) – The Saint Vincent women's soccer team scored an impressive 3-0 victory over visiting Wilson College in each team's 2022 season-opener.
The Bearcats (1-0) took the lead less than two minutes into play and would hold onto the advantage for the duration of the match on the steamy UPMC Field turf, giving head coach
Bryan Butler his first career victory.
Senior
Bella Ely got the scoring underway quickly for SVC, as she took a quick pass in traffic from teammate
Jude Galvin and lofted it into the goal from 10 yards out to push the hosts in front 1-0 just 74 seconds into play.
The Bearcats held a drastic advantage in possession throughout the first half, holding the ball for large swaths of time, but were unable to add an insurance tally before the break. SVC out-shot Wilson 7-1 in the opening frame, with the lone Phoenix attempt gobbled up by Bearcat keeper
Madison Arnold in the 34th minute.
The play would even out in the early stages of the second frame, with Wilson maintaining possession for much of the first 10 minutes. The SVC defense held the Phoneix to just one shot over the span, however, before the Bearcats used a quick-strike offense to add some insurance.
In the 63rd minute, Galvin shook past two defenders and dished a pass to
Madisen Geesaman, who would blast it over the keeper from 25 yards out for her first career goal to make it 2-0.
Three minutes later, SVC utilized a perfect set piece to close out the afternoon's scoring. After Wilson was whistled for a foul near midfield, Ely blasted the ensuing free kick deep into the offensive zone.
Catie Dzikowski emerged from the traffic in front to accept Ely's kick and direct it into the net from the doorstep to up the lead to 3-0.
As was the case in the opening frame, the Bearcats continued to keep the Phoenix at bay, allowing just four second half Wilson shots, and none on goal, to seal the clean sheet for Arnold. The Bearcats ended the afternoon with a 12-5 advantage in shots and a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
The Bearcats will now have a four-day layoff before returning to action on Wednesday, Sept. 7, when they will make the trek down Route 30 to take on crosstown foe Pitt-Greensburg in a 4 p.m., non-conference bout.
