Newburgh, N.Y. – Freshman
Kayla Davis (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) and junior
Chrissy Cannella (Cornwall, N.Y.) each scored in their Mount debuts as the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Soccer team battled its way to a 2-0 win over visiting Ramapo to open the 2018 season.
A tightly contested first half did not see the first score until Davis tallied her first career goal late in the opening stanza. After her initial shot was stopped, she gathered the rebound on the right wing and floated a shot to the back of the net for the eventual deciding tally with just under two minutes left until halftime.
The Davis sequence produced two of just three shots for the Knights in the first half, as Ramapo carried a 5-3 edge in attempts into the intermission. Ellsworth made a pair of stops for the Knights, while Ramapo keeper, Elizabeth Harvell, kept one Mount Saint Mary shot out of the net.
Mount Saint Mary maintained the 1-0 lead and carried much of the play in the second half, before finally breaking through again in the 75
th minute. Cannella found her way into the box for the Mount and had her first shot stopped, but collected the rebound and scored to an open goal to push the Knights in front by the final two goal advantage.
The Knights outshot Ramapo 7-1 after halftime and finished the game with a 10-6 edge in attempts, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. Ramapo rounded out the night with a slim 4-3 advantage in corner kicks, taking two in each half.
Liz Ellsworth (Suffern, N.Y.) picked up the shutout win in her first career start and finished with three saves. Her only stop in the second half came late in regulation time when she tipped an attempt from Liliann Vizcaino over the bar and out of harm's way. Harvell rounded out the night with four stops for Ramapo, including three in the second half.
Friday's win moves Mount Saint Mary to 1-0 and gives it a win in the season opener for the first time since a 1-0 win over Vassar to start the 2015 season. Next up for the Knights is a trip to Neumann for a 2:00 p.m. kick-off with the Knights on Sunday.
