BOSTON, Mass.—Junior Jessica Harper (Mansfield, Ohio) struck gold for the second time in as many games, while sophomore Jill Kefalas (Wenham, Mass.) hammered home her first goal of the year to push Gordon to a 2-0 shutout at Emerson on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Scots rebounded from a tough double overtime loss to defending USCAA national champion UMFK on Thursday to pick up their first victory of the season in non-conference play.
Emerson took the game's first scoring opportunity five minutes into the half on a shot by freshman Chiara Bernardi (Santa Barbara, Calif.), but the ball landed in the arms of Gordon goalie Kali Denty (Marshfield, Mass.). Several minutes later on a pass from midfield, Kefalas raced up the field and crossed the ball into the lower right hand corner of the net past Emerson senior goalie Melanie Escobar (Torrington, Conn.). Rookie Ashton Barkey (Parker, Colo.) got her first collegiate point on the play with a through ball up the seam of the defense.
Gordon slowed down the Emerson offense and held the Lions to just five shots over the opening 45 minutes of play. With 16 minutes remaining in the half, the Fighting Scots struck again. After Emerson cleared the ball from in front of the net, Gordon regained possession and a chance manifested from the right side of the field. Sophomore Tori Caswell (Uxbridge, Mass.) put a shot on frame to force Escobar into a tough save situation. The Emerson keeper knocked the ball away, but Harper was there to clean up the mess and fire home an identical goal to her strike in the season opener.
Sophomore Jessica Frost (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) nearly put Emerson on the board with a little over three minutes remaining in the first, but the her shot soared just over the crossbar. The score remained in Gordon's favor entering halftime.
A prime opportunity for Gordon to push the lead to three came when Kara Dry (Madison, Conn.) had an open shot in front of the net, but she sent the ball high. After nearly going down 3-0, Emerson began to find the rhythm they were missing in the first half.The Lions earned another scoring chance in the 58th minute when Bernardi carried the ball up the right side and sent it into the right hand corner, but Denty was there to recover the shot and the score stayed 2-0.
Emerson gained two more opportunities to put themselves on the board, but both were denied by stellar saves from Denty. Sophomore Elizabeth Noble's (Long Beach, Calif.) free kick veered to the left post and was quickly stopped by the dive of Denty. Two minutes later, Denty halted sophomore Paige Haley's (San Diego, Calif.) shot and held the score.
The Lions continued to take shot after shot in the final minutes of the second half, but none could find the back of the net as the Fighting Scots sealed the 2-0 victory.
Gordon has a full week to recover before the defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champions, Roger Williams, head to town for a 1:30 p.m. tip next Saturday.
Portions of release courtesy of Emerson Sports Information
