PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – It was an opening day to remember for the Eastern Connecticut State University Women's Soccer team and their first-year class as the Warriors started the 2026 season in style with a 5-1 win over St. Joseph's University (LI), led by two goals from first-year forward
Emily McKelvey.
The first-year core for Eastern wasted no time getting them off to the races in the opening minutes of play, as McKelvey pocketed her first collegiate goal just 6:48 into the contest on a corner kick from senior defender
Arianna Tomassi, which deflected off her foot past graduate goalkeeper Kristin Vahle.
Less than three minutes later, it was the Warriors striking again, this time with first-year forward
Alana Burnell's first collegiate goal on a two-on-one breakaway attempt where she beat Vahle to the left side of the goal mouth, making it a quick 2-0 blitz for the visitors.
By halftime, Eastern held a 12-2 edge in shots, as well as a 6-2 margin in shots on goal, and took six corner kicks, three of which found the back of the net. The second first-half corner goal came off the foot of McKelvey again, as junior defender
Jordan Fabry lifted the offensive chance into the box where the first-year headed the ball to Vahle's right side, scoring the third goal of the half for the Warriors.
However, the offense was not done, as the fourth goal of the half and third goal off a corner would be the first of senior forward
Anna Loveless' three-year career. In the first 45 minutes of the Eastern season alone, six different Warriors recorded at least a goal or an assist, with McKelvey leading the way with two goals and Fabry with two assists.
Looking to record the 26
th hat trick in program history during the second half, McKelvey found open space in the 57
th minute, firing a shot just wide against Vahle on the right side of the goal mouth. After senior forward Julia Dunne got one back for the Golden Eagles in the 84
th minute against senior goalkeeper
Kaeden Dublin, the second goal of junior midfielder
Faith Corona's career with less than 30 seconds remaining put the finishing touches on the wire-to-wire victory, 5-1, for the Warriors.
Coming off back-to-back Little East Conference Goalkeeper of the Year honors, junior goalkeeper
Alex Ignatowicz played the first 63:33 minutes of the match, making three saves against the Golden Eagles' offense, while Dublin played the final 26:27 minutes, allowing the goal to senior forward Julia Dunne, on the only shot she faced. Overall for the match, Eastern dominated in total shots by a 17-4 margin (9-4 in shots on goal), while the offense produced eight corner kicks and held the Golden Eagles to none.
The win was the Warriors' first in the all-time series against the Golden Eagles, who made the NCAA Tournament last season after winning the Skyline Conference, which began last year with a 1-1 tie at Rick McCarthy Field.
Eastern now prepares for its 2026 home opener on Friday afternoon, when it welcomes Mount Holyoke College, a team it is 0-2-0 against in the all-time series, to Rick McCarthy Field. Both of those matchups were 1-0 losses during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
