Box Score BRIGHTON, Mass. – All-New England junior forward Emily Becher (Brooklyn) scored the only goal of the match with 11 minutes left and sophomore keeper Kayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA) made five saves in the team's ninth shutout of the year as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team downed Simmons College Wednesday night at Daly Field.
Ranked ninth as the only public institution ranked in the New England Division III Top 10, Eastern (11-3-2) outshot Simmons (8-8-2), 24-8, with an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks but could only get one past Simmons junior keeper Casey Halle, who made 14 saves.
With her 42nd career goal, Becher recorded her fifth game-winning goal of the season (18th of her career) when she beat Halle with a shot in the slot with 11:10 in regulation for her ninth goal of the season. The Sharks had beaten Eastern in overtime last year in the first meeting between the programs in nine years.
Now 7-1-2 in its last ten matches, Eastern posted its third straight shutout win in improvint its record away from home this year to 8-3-0. The Sharks lost for only the third time in their last ten matches.
Becher ended nearly 79 minutes of scoreless play when she carried the ball down the left side of the box for the Warriors, drew the keeper out, and snuck a shot past her in the slot.
Simmons looked to pull even with less than three minutes remaining when sophomore forward Mikayla Elliott broke free on the right side of the box, but her shot went wide right to end the team's best scoring threat of the evening. Labrecque recorded her sixth full shutout of the season and has started eight of the team's nine shutouts.
Eastern needs a win or tie to post its second straight unbeaten season in the Little East Conference when it hosts Rhode Island College Saturday at 1 p.m. A win gives the Warriors their second straight outright title and No. 1 playoff seed while a tie or loss coupled with a Keene State College (5-1-0) win at UMass Boston (1-4-1) Saturday night gives the Owls the outright title and No. 1 seed.
