Box Score
Box Score

CANTON, N.Y. - The St. Lawrence University women's soccer team enjoyed their ninth win of the season as the Saints shutout Rensselaer 2-0 in Liberty League action on Sandy MacAllaster Field.

The Saints, now 9-1-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the Liberty League, are currently third in the conference standings behind William Smith and Vassar, while Rensselaer falls to a 5-6-0 mark and 0-4-0 in the league.

Rookie keeper Abby van Geldern (Rowayton, CT/Brien McMahon) collected her seventh shutout of the season after making six saves. She is nearing the program's record of 10 shutouts in one season with six games left to play.  Rensselaer's Meghan White (Kingston, NY/Kingston) had five saves in the contest.

Scoring for the Saints was sophomore forward Lizzie Bogosian (Manlius, NY/Loomis Chaffee), who tallied the game-winning goal, while junior forward Lauren Annaldo capped the game off with a header for the second goal on the contest. Sophomore back Nicky Hynes (Carleton Place, ON/The Kent School) and sophomore forward Kaitlyn Fahsel (Watertown, NY/Rodman) added assists in the host team's efforts.

While the Saints held a 20-15 advantage in shots, the home team only had a 7-6 edge in shots on goal as Rensselaer poured pressure on St. Lawrence throughout the 90 minutes of play. Bogosian got the Saints on the scoreboard at the end of the 25th minute after Hynes flicked on a cross off the foot of junior midfielder Stanzi McGlynn (Montoursville, PA/Montoursville Area H.S.).  Bogosian scored the goal on the back post.

Rensselaer found scoring opportunities of their own but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. RPI's Catherine Harvey (Portland, OR/Liberty) found herself in front of van Geldern and tried to use her head to get the ball in the back of the net, but instead found the crossbar.

The second half saw both teams fight for possession of the ball, as each squad had eight shots in the remaining 45 minutes. The Red Hawks continued to find chances to score in dangerous St. Lawrence territory. With just under 33 minutes remaining, Rensselaer's Sarah Hinz (Swanzey, NH/Monadnock)found herself all alone streaking down the left side of the field, but the defenders met her in the left corner to clear the ball and put it back into play in the midfield.

St. Lawrence doubled its lead when Fahsel played a dangerous ball from the right flank to the Annaldo, a junior forward who was inside the six as she headed it into the net for a 2-0 lead with 16 seconds remaining.

“Today the team learned the importance of playing up for a conference match,” said Saints' head coach Franco Bari. “Rensselaer came at us with a lot of intensity. However, our discipline and composure defensively allowed us to keep the ball out of our net. With that being said, on the other end of the field we created phenomenal chances and scored two of the best goals we've scored all year as a collective unit.”