Speno’s Golden Goal Lifts Women’s Soccer Past Curry 3-2

QUINCY, Mass.- Sophomore Jules Speno (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) found the back of the net in the 105th minute to propel the Eastern Nazarene College women's soccer team to a 3-2 victory over Curry Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

"We came out slow and backed ourselves into a corner, trailing early on. I was pleased though with the way we settled down and refocused. Once our mindset was where it should be, I thought we did a good job of pressuring on the offensive end to tie the score," said head coach Steve Hamilton.

With the win, the Lions improve to 7-6-2 overall and 4-1-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The loss drops the Colonels to 5-8-2 on the year and 1-5-0 in league matches.

The visitors got on the board first with a tally just 2:19 into the contest. Lindsay Trudeau headed in a corner kick service from Deanna McMahon to give Curry a 1-0 lead.

The Colonels doubled their advantage to 2-0 in the eighth minute. Brittney McLaughlin rolled a shot into the right side of the net for her seventh goal of the season.

Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit in half, 2-1, as sophomore Sam Williams (Forest Hill, Md.) notched her first score of the season in the 29th minute. Speno dribbled to the endline on the left wing before slotting a pass to Williams at the top of the box. Williams dribbled into the penalty area before firing a shot into the right side of the cage.

In the waning moments of the first half, Williams collected her second goal of the contest with 6.1 seconds showing on the clock. She corralled a loose ball inside the box after the Curry goalkeeper turned it over and calmly placed the ball in the net for the equalizer.

At the break the Lions sported an 8-6 margin in shots while the Colonels were awarded three corners in the opening 45 minutes.

After neither squad broke the deadlock in the second half, the match headed to overtime to determine the outcome.

Eastern Nazarene totaled 14 shots in regulation time while Curry posted 10 attempts.

Both teams recorded one shot in the first overtime session.

In the 105th minute, Speno settled a ball inside the penalty box and dribbled towards the goal. Just before she reached the six-yard box, the sophomore sent a low shot on target that the goalkeeper denied with her shins. Speno charged the rebounded and booted home her team-leading seventh tally of the year.

Between the pipes, rookie Kristen Farley (Westminster, Mass.) registered three saves en route to her sixth victory of the fall. On the opposite end of the pitch, Samantha Hardy turned aside nine shots for the Colonels.

The Lions outshot Curry 19-11 on the afternoon while the visitors held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks earned.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene heads to the Ocean State for a midweek conference battle at Salve Regina October 17.