SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- September 1, 2007 --Nicole Hanewich found the back of the net twice in the first half to propel the Springfield College women’s soccer team past MCLA, 2-0, on Saturday evening at Brock-Affleck Field at the Irv Schmid Sports Complex. The season-opening win in the Springfield Invitational puts the Pride at 1-0 this season while the Trailblazers drop to 0-1.

Hanewich opened up the scoring just 9:37 into the game as she collected a loose ball inside the box, split a pair of defenders and finished a one-on-one opportunity against MCLA keeper Kristean Kissell. The Pride’s returning goal scorer from 2006 slipped the ball into the right side of the goal to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.

Just under eight minutes later, Hanewich struck again to give the Pride a 2-0 lead. After a Jess Precipe shot was punched away by Kissell, Hanewich made no mistake as she fired the ball into the left side netting from seven yards out, pass a sprawling defender on the goaline.

The Pride peppered Kissel with 24 shots in the game while MCLA managed just one shot in the contest.

In the first game of the Springfield Invitational, the Western New England College women’s soccer team defeated Elms College, 1-0, in a first-round game of the Springfield College Invitational at Springfield’s Brock-Affleck Field. With the win, WNEC is now 1-0, while Elms falls to 0-1.

The Golden Bears scored the game’s lone goal with 28:37 remaining in the first half. It was tallied by junior forward Emily VanLare (Farmington, N.Y.).

Both goalkeepers held the opposing team at bay for the remainder of the contest. For the Golden Bears, sophomore Jessica Covino (Bristol, Conn.) was credited with three saves, while junior Shannon Donnelly (Florence, Mass.) of Elms was credited with five saves.

WNEC had six shots on goal, while Elms had three. WNEC took four corner kicks, while Elms took one.

On Sunday, in predetermined match-ups, WNEC takes on MCLA at 5:00 pm, followed by Springfield versus Elms at 7:30 pm.

published: 09/01/2007