Fitchburg State Rebounds Over Manhattanville, 4-1

Kennedy and Bridges lead the charge as Falcons earn first victory of the season

MANSFIELD, Conn. (September 3, 2011) – Senior Carissa Kennedy (Somerset, Mass./Bishop Stang) registered a team-high three points as the Fitchburg State women's soccer team collected its first victory of the season defeating Manhattanville College, 4-1 this evening.

Kennedy  led the Falcons charge, totaling a team-best three points with one score and one assist, while freshman Kayla Bridges (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) paced the attack with a pair of dishes. Seniors Hannah Mitchell (Hopedale, Mass./Hopedale) and Kat Marrone (W. Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) were also solid with one marker apiece, while classmate Katie Hayward (Townsend, Mass./North MIddlesex) chipped in with a helper.

Luck was on the Falcons side right from the start of the match as Fitchburg State took an early 1-0 advantage just 11 minutes in on an own goal by Manhattanville. The Falcons paired that goal with one of their own, taking a 2-0 advantage into the break as Kennedy tallied her second score of the year off a feed from Bridges in the 37th minute.

In the second period, Manhattanville quickly cut its deficit in half, using a Morgan Rebollal (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) score just six minutes into the frame, but Fitchburg State responded with back-to-back goals to end the Valiants' comeback hopes. Mitchell gave the Falcons a two goal cushion with her first goal of the season in the 71st minute, before Marrone capped Fitchburg State's scoring with a tally just seven minutes later.

Between the pipes net, sophomore Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) rebounded in a big way, totaling two saves en route to the victory. Kirouac logged nearly 84 minutes in the match before giving way to freshman Kelsey Ford (Franconia, N.H./Profile School) who was untested for the final six minutes.

The Falcons offense received a big boost throughout the match, totaling a 22-4 advantage in targets, including a 9-2 advantage on net. Fitchburg State used 11 corners to secure its victory while limiting the Valiants to only four corner attempts all game.

Fitchburg State (1-1, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again on Tuesday as it hosts Anna Maria College at 7 p.m. Manhattanville (0-2, 0-0 IMAC) will visit Farmingdale State on Wednesday at 4 p.m.