WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – All-New England forward Emily Becher (Brooklyn) had her first points of the season by scoring the first goal and assisting on the third as the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s soccer team downed Westfield State University in a non-conference match, 3-1, Saturday night at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.
Eastern (3-0-0) extended its unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) against Westfield (2-2-0) by scoring twice in the first half and adding a third goal with 18 minutes left before the Owls broke the shutout bid on freshman forward Bella Eduardo’s (Springfield, MA) 30-yard blast which carried over the head of Eastern sophomore keeper Kayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA) with 13:34 left.
Westfield made a bid to trim the Eastern lead to one goal on a free kick by Eduardo with nine minutes left, but Labrecque stretched out to tip the low shot off the post for her only save of the half.
Becher, who brought a career total of 33 goals and four assists into the contest, broke through in the 13th minute when she one-timed sophomore midfielder Hannah Goodale’s (Coventry) cross from the right side past Westfield sophomore keeper Natalia Falcone (Sutton, MA) from the six yard line.
Sophomore All-America back Maggie Bodington (Stratford) made it 2-0 with four minutes left in the half with a header off a perfect free kick from junior midfielder McKenzie Reimondo (Portland). Bodington crashed in from the right side and re-directed the header back inside the right post.
Sophomore midfielder Kaley Pratt (Milford, MA) recorded her first career goal in the 73rd minute when she knocked in Becher’s cross from the right.
Junior Kaley Kennedy (Enfield) made one save as the first-half keeper to improve her career record to 3-0, 2-0 this season.
Eastern outshot Westfield 17-4, with Falcone making ten saves in her fourth start of the year. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
