Pinksten, Zdanek Propel Women's Soccer over UMass Dartmouth

NEWTON, Mass. (10/3/16) -- The Lasell College women's soccer team scored two goals in the first half and never looked back on Monday afternoon at Taylor Field, extending its unbeaten streak to eight games with a 3-1 win over non-conference foe UMass Dartmouth.

Sophomores Carly Zdanek (Newton, N.J.) and Morgan Pinksten (Pelham, N.H.) teamed up for each of the first two goals, lifting the Lasers to their seventh straight victory and a 7-2-1 record on the season. The Corsairs slip to 2-7-2 and remain winless in their last seven contests.

Zdanek scored once in each half and added an assist to pace Lasell's offense, increasing her team-leading goal and point totals to five and 13, respectively. Freshman Caitlin Rotonnelli (Meredith, N.H.) registered her third collegiate point on an assist to Zdanek for the game's final goal.

Lasell senior Devon Day (Hartland, Vt.) nearly scored first late in the 20th minute, as her first of two shots in the half beat UMD sophomore goalkeeper Korina Miguel (New Bedford, Mass.) but pinged off the crossbar.

The game remained scoreless into the final five minutes of the first half. The Lasers held an 11-4 shots advantage in the frame, but it was not until the 41:07 mark, when Pinksten scored her third goal of the season off a feed from Zdanek, that they got on the board.

The score doubled to 2-0 less than three minutes later, at 43:40, as the two connected in reverse order with Pinksten sending a pass into the box for Zdanek to finish.

UMD broke the Lasers' five-match shutout streak in the 74th minute, cutting the score to 2-1. Junior Abby Silva (Fall River, Mass.) moved past her defender inside the box and shot her second goal of the season into the top corner of the net.

Lasell responded quickly at the 79:09 mark as Zdanek took a feed from Rotonnelli into the box to finish the second multi-goal game of her career.

Sarah LaClair (Belchertown, Mass.) continued her outstanding junior season with a three-save effort for Lasell, while Miguel and junior Madison Boucher (Southampton, Mass.) each saw time in the Corsairs' net and combined to make eight saves. Miguel played more than 64 minutes, allowing two goals on eight shots on net.

The Lasers return to Great Northeast Athletic Conference action with a 4 p.m. contest at Anna Maria on Wednesday, October 5, while the Corsairs open a four-match homestand with Eastern Nazarene College that same night at 7 p.m.