HENNIKER, N.H.—New England College forward Emily Kuchta (Norwalk, Conn.) netted the lone goal of the evening leading the Pilgrims past the visiting Simmons Sharks 1-0 Saturday afternoon in NAC conference play. With the win the Pilgrims improve to 4-6 overall and 3-2 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC). The loss drops the Sharks to 5-7 overall and 0-4 in the NAC.

The two teams would battle through a scoreless opening half as Simmons would hold the 10-5 advantage in shots. The Pilgrims had two scoring opportunities on two penalty strokes but one missed the net high and the other was denied by Shark keeper Renna Smith (Belfast, Maine).

NEC would break the scoreless tie 13 minutes into the second half when Kuchta found the rebound on her own shot for her team-high ninth goal of the season putting the Pilgrims up 1-0. The Pilgrims continued to control much of the offense in the second half of play as they would finish the half out shooting the Sharks 17-0.

Picking up the shutout win in goal for NEC was Mary Roux (Hillsborough, N.H.) who finished with eight saves. Smith stopped an impressive 15 shots on net for the Sharks in the loss.

Simmons will travel on Tuesday, October 4th to take on conference foe Rivier. New England College returns to action on Thursday, October 6th when they host non-conference opponent Keene State College.