Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – Junior forward Daniela Marchitto (Orange) had a goal and assist to help her team to a two-goal halftime lead and the Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team extended its regular-season unbeaten streak to 20 with a 4-1 victory over Fitchburg State University on the first day of the Warrior Classic Friday night at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.
In the first match of the evening, Patricia Nolan scored on a ground ball inside the far right post 2:35 into sudden death overtime to snap a scoreless battle and lead Saint Joseph College (CT) to the victory over Manhattanville College.
The matches were the season-openers for all four squads.
Ranked No. 14 nationally in the pre-season, Eastern outshot Fitchburg 17-2 and limited the Falcons to one corner kick in posting its 20 straight unbeaten match in the regular season. The Warriors were 15-0-3 in the regular season last year prior to conference and NCAA play after winning the final regular-season game of 2009. Manhattanville is the last regular-season team to defeat the Warriors, taking a 2-0 decision Oct. 28, 2009 at Purchase, NY.
In defeating Fitchburg for the third time in as many meetings over the last three years, Eastern broke from a scoreless tie to strike twice in just over three minutes late in the first half, then made it 3-0 a minute into the second half sophomore midfielder Nicole Leonard's (Rutherford, NJ) fifth career goal on a pass from first-year sophomore midfield transfer Blair Church (New London). Freshman midfielder Maggie Slivinski (Wallingford) came off the bench in the second half to total her first career goal on a long blast which deflected off a Fitchburg defender and past sophomore keeper Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, MA).
Primarly a midfielder last year, senior forward Jo-Ann Merheb (Bethel) put Eastern ahead for good in the 31st minute when she one-timed her 12th career goal inside the left post from the left side on an end-line pass from Marchitto. Marchitto had chased down a lead pass from senior back Laura Violette (Wallingford) on the right side of the net and sent a line drive across the box to Merheb. Marchitto's 19th career goal came less than three minutes later when she capitalized to send in a loose ball that Kirouac knocked down but could not control.
Saturday, Manhattanville meets Fitchburg State at 5 p.m. and Eastern faces Saint Joseph at 7:15 p.m.
