PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's soccer team defeated the New England College Pilgrims, 7-0, on Arold Field in a Friday matinee.
The Panthers, who have seen success against their cross-state opponent in recent years, notched four first half goals to take an early lead and were able to coast to an opening day victory.
Sophomore
Ella Fraser (Nottingham, N.H.) tallied the first goal in the 11th minute, tucking away her own rebound after the Pilgrim goalkeeper made a strong save on the first attempt. Less than two minutes later junior
Molly Bellmore (Hebron, Conn.) doubled the Panthers' lead (2-0) by intercepting an errant pass from the goalkeeper.
The two players combined for a third goal as Fraser tapped home her second of the afternoon, a pass from Bellmore in the 22nd minute, to extend the first half advantage. On the brink of halftime, junior
Nevaeh Petruzzi (Newmarket, N.H.) put forth a good individual effort up the left side, giving Plymouth State a 4-0 advantage, putting the game out of reach before the break.
Rounding out the Plymouth State scoring for the afternoon were Fraser (2 goals, 1 assist), Petruzzi (2 goals), Bellmore (1 goal, 2 assists), juniors
Olivia Howard (Berwick, Maine) and
Emily Wilson (Salem, N.H.) each recorded one goal, and graduate student
Tess LeDuc (Marlborough, Mass.) tallied an assist.
Plymouth State opens the 2024 game with a 1-0-0 record, while the Pilgrims fall to 0-1-0 to start the season.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 7, NEC 0
- Plymouth State (1-0-0)
- NEC (0-1-0)
How it Happened:
- Plymouth State came out confident, creating multiple chances in the opening ten minutes of play.
- Fraser broke through with her first goal of the match after blasting a shot to the near post which the Pilgrim goalkeeper made a strong save on. With the ball bouncing around on the ground, Fraser was able to tap the ball home to go up 1-0 in the 11th minute of play.
- Two minutes later, Bellmore found a pass from the NEC goalkeeper at the top of the box and put home the empty netter to increase the advantage to 2-0.
- The Panthers started to pile on the pressure as Bellmore found herself in space up the right side and unselfishly placed the ball back in front of goal for Fraser to put the ball away giving the Panthers a comfortable 3-0 lead midway through the first half.
- In the 41st minute, Petruzzi ran fast multiple defenders on the left side and cut back in to knock the fourth goal home. The score would remain 4-0 at the halftime break.
- The Panthers ran away in the second half, walking away with a 7-0 win in the home opener.
By the Numbers:
- PSU outshot New England College 16-6.
- Shots on goal were in Plymouth's favor, 10-3.
- Plymouth State recorded five corners to three for NEC.
- Each team recorded three saves by the goalkeepers.
- The seven-goal margin was the largest in 13 meetings between the two teams.
- Plymouth State holds a convincing 9-1-3 record in the head-to-head matchup dating back to 2008.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State hosts Rivier for a Labor Day contest on Monday (Sept. 2) at noon.
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