Women's Soccer Tops ENC in Regular Season Finale

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's soccer team wrapped up regular season play with a 2-1 victory over Eastern Nazarene College on Friday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown.

Gemma Landry and Jessica Krupnikoff each netted goals as the Mariners earned their fifth win of the season, the most for the program since the 2011 campaign. Mitchell also improved to 1-1-1 in league action and finished tied for second place in the NECC standings. 

Diamond Best accounted for ENC's lone goal, which cut a 2-0 deficit in half late in the contest. The Lions dropped to 3-12-0 overall and 0-3-0 in conference play.

The first half was nearly scoreless, but the Mariners squeezed in a goal in the final moments of the stanza. Mariah Travisano played a ball over ENC's back line that Landry tracked down and took two yards into the box before being taken down. Mitchell was awarded a penalty kick, and Landry stepped up to rocket a shot into the right corner of the goal.

Mitchell added to the lead in the opening seconds of the second half, as Krupnikoff pinned her first career goal with a skipping shot from outside the box on the right wing. Hannah Penn and Isabella Avalos were credited with assists on the play.

Trailing 2-0, ENC kept pressing on the offensive end. The Lions outshot the Mariners 15-4 in the second half, but didn't break through until the 84^th minute. Beatriz de Oliveira Segato set up the goal by deking a defender on the right sideline and crossing a ball into the box. Best was at the receiving end and volleyed a shot into the top-right corner of the goal for her third marker of the season.

The Lions had one final chance in the 89^th minute to tie the game, but a shot by Sam Baston was denied by Landry. 

Landry, who played the second half in goal, finished with eight saves. Angelina Munoz got the starting nod for the Mariners and made five stops. ENC goalkeepers Sofia Fevola and Jasmine Arzu each recorded a save apiece.

Mitchell (5-8-2 overall, 1-1-1 NECC) will next face New England College in the semifinals of the 2021 NECC Women's Soccer Championship, while Eastern Nazarene will take on Lesley University. Dates, locations and start times for both games will be released by the conference in the coming days.