PROVIDENCE, R.I.- The Simmons College women's soccer team was defeated by host Johnson & Wales University, 3-1, this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Scotts Miracle-Gro field in Providence, R.I. The Sharks drop to 7-5-2 overall and 5-4-1 in conference action, while the Wildcats improve to 13-2 on the season and remain unbeaten at 9-0 in GNAC play.

Johnson & Wales held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks, while maintaining a slight edge in shots, 11-8, on the night.

The Wildcats netted two goals in the first 45 minutes of play off the foot of senior forward Kyra Selner (Sterling, Va.) which proved to be all JWU needed for the match. Selner opened the scoring 15:53 into the first half, receiving a through ball from first year forward Jaclyn Larsen (Florham Park, N.J.), and slamming a shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Selner tallied her second goal of the game dribbling through a pair of defenders and slipping a shot past the Simmons keeper at 22:54, for a 2-0 edge. The score remained the same as the teams entered the break.

Senior forward Gabrielle Klane (Franklin, Mass.) notched her second goal of the season, firing a shot into the right side of the net at 52:49 in the match, cutting the JWU lead in half, making the score 2-1. That is as close as the Sharks would get, while the Wildcats added an insurance goal at 75:08 when junior defender Natalie Gallucci (Coventry, R.I.) collected a rebound and found the back of the net for a 3-1 lead and the eventual final score.

Senior goalkeeper Casey Halle (Watertown, Mass.) recorded three saves for the Sharks in the outing, while the JWU netminder, Colleen Lynch (New Milford, Conn.) turned away four shots, two in each period, to earn her thirteenth win of the season.

Simmons is back on the pitch on Wednesday, October 18 when it travels to North Dartmouth, Mass. to take on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at 7:00 p.m., while the Wildcats hit the road to neighboring Rhode Island College on the same date for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.