Pair Of Late Goals Lift CCSU Women Past Mercyhurst, 2-1

A pair of late goals just 1:02 apart in the 79th and 80th minutes lifted the Central Connecticut State University women's soccer team to a 2-1 home NEC win over the visiting Mercyhurst University Lakers on a chilly Thursday night in New Britain.  Trailing, 1-0, Central tied the match on a goal by freshman Vanessa Frangiadakis, the first goal of her college career, and the Blue Devils took the lead at 2-1 on a tally by junior Emma Radoncic, her second straight game-winning goal.  Thursday victory keeps CCSU unbeaten in its last six matches and gives the team a four-match winning streak, as the Blue Devils are now 4-0-2 in conference play and 4-4-3 overall.  Mercyhurst sees its overall record fall to 1-11-2, and the Lakers are 1-4-1 in the NEC.

GAME INFORMATION | BOX SCORE

Score:  CCSU 2 Mercyhurst 1
Records: CCSU (4-4-3, 4-0-2 NEC), Mercyhurst (1-11-2, 1-4-1 NEC)
Location: CCSU Soccer Field |New Britain, CT

KEY MOMENTS

• Central's Kaitlyn Dwyer fired the first shot of the match which just went wide of the Lakers' goal 2:17 into play on Thursday evening.
• CCSU goalkeeper Melina Ford made a key save to keep the match scoreless at the 13:47 mark when she sprinted off her line to snuff out an attempt from Madison Sievering.
• The teams would head into halftime scoreless with the Blue Devils holding a slim 6-5 advantage in shots.
• The visitors would grab a 1-0 lead 8:28 into the second half when Maddi Cowburn headed home a nicely lofted free kick from Madison Sievering.
• The match would stay at 1-0 in favor of Mercyhurst until late in the contest when CCSU finally got on the scoreboard when Vanessa Frangiadakis put home her own rebound after a sparkling save by the Mercyhurst goalkeeper Rylee Kumar at the 78:35 mark to knot the match at 1-1.
• Just 1:02 after Frangiadakis' goal, Emma Radoncic would net Thursday's game-winner when she fired home a left-footed shot into the top corner out the net from outside the box to give the hosts their first lead of the night which they would not relinquish.
• The Blue Devils dominated the game in the second 45 minutes of play outshooting the Lakers by a 16-4 margin.

NUMBER TO KNOW

6-Match unbeaten streak for the CCSU women's soccer team.

NOTES

• Radoninc, who has scored the game-winning goal in CCSU's last two matches, now leads the team in scoring with five points on two goals and one assist.
• Melina Ford earned her fourth straight win in net for the Blue Devils making a total of five saves.
• Central finished Thursday's match with a 22-9 edge in shots and a 13-2 advantage in corners.
• Mercyhurst's Rylee Kumar made a total of six saves in the match.
• 10 different players had at least one shot attempt for the Blue Devils in Thursday's victory.

UP NEXT

• The CCSU women's soccer team is back in action one week from tonight when they travel to the Garden State of New Jersey for an important NEC match versus FDU.  Game time next Thursday is slated for 4:00 p.m.  The squad's next home game is scheduled for Sunday, October 19 when the Sharks of LIU will come to town for a 12:00 p.m. contest.  That will also be Senior Day for the Blue Devils.

Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.