Women's Soccer Falls in NECC Opener to Eastern Nazarene

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's soccer team lost its New England Collegiate Conference opener by a 7-0 final to Eastern Nazarene College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

Sam Bernardi and Diamond Best each netted a pair of goals for the Lions, who improved to 3-3-0 overall and picked up a win in their NECC debut. Best also handed out an assist to finish with five points on the day.

Emily Forstrom opened the scoring with a shot inside the left post in the third minute to put ENC up 1-0. It was the first of four goals in the half for the Lions, as Victoria Hern added a tally in the 26th minute and Bernardi potted her first in the 32nd. An own goal by Mitchell in the final two minutes of the half led to a 4-0 deficit at the break.

In the second half, Best added both goals during a 3:36 span to increase the lead to 6-0 with 14 minutes to play. Bernardi tacked on her second goal in the 77th minute on an unassisted effort for the final margin.

Mitchell goalkeeper Drew Johndrow finished with a career-high 21 saves as ENC held a 43-1 advantage in shots. Sara Moschini was not tested in the contest and recorded her first clean sheet of the season.

Mitchell (0-5-0 overall, 0-1-0 NECC) will next host Anna Maria College on Monday, September 17 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Nazarene returns to action at home against Southern Vermont College on Saturday, September 22 at 1 p.m.