NEWTON, Mass. - The Simmons women's soccer team scored twice in the second half to erase a tie and come away with a 3-1 victory at host Mount Ida College this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match in Newton, Mass. The Sharks win their third straight game and sixth of their last seven to improve to 9-6-2 overall and 8-3-0 in league play, while the Mustangs fall to 3-13-1 and 2-8-1. The win clinches a home playoff match in the GNAC Championship Tournament for the Sharks.
Simmons dominated the shots by a count of 24-6 on the day, while holding a 5-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Junior midfielder Victoria Russo (Braintree, Mass.) cracked the scoring column first for the Sharks, scoring her second marker of the year when she was able to get a foot on a ball that ricocheted off the Mount Ida keeper and the post and rolled into the back of the net. Simmons would hold the slight 1-0 edge after the first half of play while outshooting the Mustangs 7-0.
Senior Kaitlyn Affhauser (Cheshire, Mass.) knotted the game at 1-1 just four minutes into the half when her touch found the back of the net off of seniors Sierra Legge's (Schodack Landing, N.Y.) corner kick.
Junior midfielder Ali Berkman (Natick, Mass.) put the Sharks ahead for good when first year forward Erin Montambault (Watertown, Mass.) found Berkman at the top of the box, who rifled a low driven shot that knocked off a Mustang defender and beat the keeper. The score gave Simmons a 2-1 lead at the 52:56 mark of the second stanza.
First year forward Kashka Gammon (Nashua, N.H.) tallied the third and final goal of the game for the Sharks off a rebound in front of the Mustang net in the 71st minute of play for her fifth tally of the year.
Mount Ida's season comes to a close while Simmons will move on to finish off the regular season on Tuesday, October 28 when it heads to Springfield, Mass. to take on Springfield College for a 7:00 p.m. tilt.