Fitchburg State Blanks Bay Path, 1-0

Fitchburg State Blanks Bay Path, 1-0

Stone and Steele lift Falcons season opening victory

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Sophomore forward Danyel Stone struck for her first collegiate tally at the 65:36 mark as the Fitchburg State women's soccer team opened up the 2015 season, defeating the Wildcats of Bay Path College, 1-0 this afternoon at Elliot Field.

In the first half, Fitchburg State nearly opened the scoring in the 30th minute of action as sophomore forward Whitney Mansfield blasted a shot in front of the net, but Wildcats keeper Alma Rizvani made a stellar save on the shot to preserve the 0-0 stalemate going into the break.

Following intermission, the Falcons turned up the offensive pressure, out-shooting Bay Path by a 20-5 margin, including an 11-4 advantage in shots on frame. The Green and Gold finally broke the 0-0 deadlock in the 66th minute of action as Stone settled a loose ball in front of goal and deposited the ball inside the near post for the 1-0 lead.

The Green and Gold threated again late in the stanza as Mansfield and Stone had a pair of quality shots on target, but Bay Path reserve goaltender Briana Kujawaski was up to the task, denying both scoring chances, resulting in the 1-0 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State out shot Bay Path 32-8, while also holding a slim 6-3 margin in corner kicks. Between the pipes, junior Morgan Steele posted five saves in the complete game shutout victory for the Falcons in her first collegiate appearance, while Rizvani and Kujawski combined to stop 17 shots for the Bay Path.

Fitchburg State (1-0-0, 0-0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it hosts the Hawks of Becker College at 7 p.m. Bay Path (0-2-0, 0-0-0 NECC) will travel to Rhode Island College next Saturday at 1 p.m.

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