Falcons Soar Past Wildcats, 7-2 In Season Opener

Mitchell and Marshall net three goals each for Falcons in non-conference victory 

East Longmeadow, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University women's soccer team opened the 2018 season this afternoon, defeating the Wildcats of Bay Path College, 7-2 in non-conference action at Ryan Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 7, Bay Path 2

Records: Fitchburg State (1-0-0) | Bay Path (0-1-0)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring at the 5:19 mark as sophomore midfielder Mikaela Mitchell (Millbury, Mass.) connected on her first collegiate tally for the 1-0 advantage before Mitchell quickly doubled the Falcons (2-0) two minutes later off a feed from sophomore Shannon Burke (Salem, Mass.).

Following a score by junior Brittny Peralta (Leominster, Mass.), Mitchell completed the hat trick in the 30th minute of play with an unassisted marker, while freshman Elicia Marshall (Taunton, Mass.) capped the first half scoring for the Green and Gold to make the score 5-1 after on half of play.

In the second frame, the visitors added a pair of insurance goals on back-to-back scores by Marshall in the span of ten minutes to the up the lead to 7-1 before the Wildcats concluded the scoring at the 75:03 mark as junior Joanna Feliciano (Springfield, Mass.) found the back of the net, resulting in the 7-2 final.

Inside the Numbers

This afternoon's contest marks the seventh meeting between the two schools on the pitch with the Falcons 6-1-0 all-time when taking on the Wildcats.

Fitchburg State has won the last four contests against Bay Path, including a 1-0 double overtime win on Sept. 1, 2017 last season as junior midfielder Micalea Goldenberg collected the game-winning tally for the Green and Gold at Elliot Field.

Mitchell led all scorers with seven points on three goals and one assist.

Fitchburg State head coach Whitney Rogers earned her first collegiate coaching win.

The Falcons finished with a 21-11 advantage in shots, while the Wildcats held a 4-2 margin in corner kicks.

Sophomore Sarah Hemmings (Eastham, Mass.) and freshman Emily Vitale (Ashland, Mass.) combined to stop four shots for the Falcons in the win, while junior Caitlyn Esposito (East Haven, Conn.) turned aside five shots for the Wildcats in the complete game effort.

Up Next

Falcons will visit Becker College on Tuesday to take on the Hawks for a contest starting at 4:00 PM. The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday as well as they travel to Fisher College for non-conference matchup at 5:30 PM.