Simmons Soccer was defeated by Great Northeast Athletic Conference rival Emmanuel College Wednesday night in a 4-0 shutout on Roberto Clemente Field. The regular season game was a rematch of last season's GNAC Championship battle, which featured the Sharks upsetting the Saints, 2-1, in double overtime. Emmanuel emerged on top in this go-round by scoring four unanswered goals in the first half en route to the victory. Emmanuel now stands at 5-8 on the season and 3-4 in GNAC play. The loss dropped Simmons to 4-7-1 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
The Saints got on the board early in the night, when senior midfielder Amber Di Nucci notched her 3rd goal of the season. Di Nucci received a pass from sophomore Meghan Zerba and found the back of the net at 13:15.
Freshman forward Darcey Sullivan got a pass from Brittany Ridge, which she sent sailing into the net. Sullivan's goal came at 14:36 and Emmanuel led, 2-0. Just twelve seconds later, the Saints tacked on another marker, when Zerba and Di Nucci reversed their earlier play. Zerba's goal came at 14:48.
Emmanuel carried the three-goal edge for the next twenty minutes, before tacking on yet another score. The Saints' fourth goal of the night came off a corner kick by Logan Carr and was netted by freshman Lindsey Garvey at 34:35.
Emmanuel took the four-goal lead into the break at halftime. The second half was a scoreless one for both teams. The hosts out-shot the visitors, 15-3, on the night.
Emmanuel's sophomore goalkeeper Jessica D'Ottavio was flawless in net, stopping Simmons' one shot on goal.
Simmons sophomore goalie Ashley Wheeler (Nashua, N.H.) started the night for the Sharks, making two saves in her 25 minutes played. Classmate Ashley Donaghey (Framingham, Mass.) relieved Wheeler in net and tallied four stops for the Sharks.
Simmons will return to the field on Saturday, October 9 when they travel to take on the Monks of Saint Joseph's Maine. Emmanuel will play again at home on Saturday when they host the Raiders of Rivier College in a noontime start.