Painesville, Ohio – The Le Moyne College women's soccer team delivered a strong performance on the road Sunday afternoon, recording a 1-0 victory against non-conference opponent Lake Erie College before beginning conference play against Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday.

The Dolphins put pressure on the Lake Erie defense relentlessly throughout the match, putting 10 total shots on target compared to just one for the Storm.

Lake Erie senior goalkeeper Megan Biddell recorded nine saves during the first 60 minutes, but the Dolphins broke through in the 66^th minute when three first year players initiated an offensive sequence involving two passes and a shot to put the 'Phins ahead for good. Freshman Avery Maxam (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton) scored her first collegiate goal off an assist from freshmen Lindsey LeBlanc (Westminster, Mass./St. Bernard's) and Kayla Maslak (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster).

"Win and a shutout, that's what we strive for in every game. Today we accomplished both of those goals. During the game we created numerous very good goal scoring opportunities, however we'll have to continue to improve our finishing around the goal. Today our players will enjoy this win on the road. Tomorrow, everyone's attention turns to next weekend's conference season-opening home game against a very good Southern New Hampshire University team," said Le Moyne Interim Head Women's Soccer Coach Jaro Zawislan.

Much of Sunday's match at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium was spent inside Le Moyne's attacking third, as the Dolphins outshot the Storm 11-2 during the first 45 minutes.

In the 17^th minute Hildur Unnarsdóttir (Kópavogur, Iceland/Commercial College of Iceland) took a corner kick from the right corner flag and sent the ball in the air towards the middle of the Storm penalty area. Lake Erie goalkeeper Biddell came out and got both hands on the ball in traffic, knocking it in the air away from goal. The ball bounced a few yards away, still within the 18-yard box, and Le Moyne midfielder Magda Aspholm (Östersund, Sweden/Jämtlands Gymnasium Wargentin) got to it first.

With two Lake Erie defenders right on her, Aspholm headed the ball away from traffic, and at the top of the box, just before a third defender could close her down, she hit a volley with her right foot.

The shot was on target and got past the diving Biddell, who was still several yards off her line, but a Lake Erie defender who was assigned to protect the near post on the corner kick and stayed at that post throughout the chaotic play was there to stop the ball on the goal line and prevent Aspholm from scoring her second goal of the season.

With just over 19 minutes remaining Le Moyne took a throw in on the left side in their attacking third. The ball was thrown to redshirt sophomore midfielder Danielle Casey (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) who stood inside the penalty area with a defender on her back. Casey turned to her right, got past her defender, took a touch to her right and unleashed a rocket from her right foot that drilled the crossbar and bounced out the top of the 18-yard box.

At the 31:30 mark the Dolphins earned a free kick in the middle of the field, about 45 yards from goal. Unnarsdóttir took the kick and hit the ball in the air towards the top of the Lake Erie penalty area. A Lake Erie defender got a head on the ball, but it was popped in the air, continued to travel towards the goal and fell to Le Moyne forward Lainey Foti (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) about eight yards from goal. Surrounded by defenders, Foti hit the ball one-time out of the air with the instep of her right foot. Unable to get enough force behind it, the shot rolled into the arms of Biddell.

Less than five minutes into the second half Brooke Wilson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton), who for the third consecutive match to begin the season played the full 90 minutes for the 'Phins, sent a long throw in from the left sideline into the Le Moyne attacking third.

The ball was thrown to Foti and bounced off a defender towards the middle of the field. As Foti was jostling with the Lake Erie player to win possession, Le Moyne freshman midfielder Vincenza Sano (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) swiftly entered the picture and knocked the ball away from the defender and began a diagonal run towards goal with the ball at her feet. Sano entered the 18-yard box then hit a shot on goal with her right foot. The shot was hit just above the head of Biddell, who able to make the save and keep the match scoreless.

With 34 minutes remaining in the half Wilson sent a long throw in from the left side into the Storm's penalty area. Maxam and Maslak pursued the ball, but a Lake Erie defender was able to kick the ball away towards the middle of the field. The attempted clearance went to LeBlanc at the top of the box and the first-year midfielder got the ball on her left foot and took a shot that was on target but caught by the goalkeeper.

In the 66^th minute Maslak received the ball in Le Moyne's attacking third and sent a pass to LeBlanc in the middle of the field, about 25 yards from goal.

LeBlanc played a nice ball on the ground to Maxam, who made a vertical run to the top of the 18-yard box with a defender on both sides of her. Maxam received the pass and took a shot that got past Biddell and hit the right side of the net to put the 'Phins up 1-0.

Through their first three collegiate matches, Maxam and LeBlanc have both recorded three points via a goal and an assist, which ties them for second most on the team so far behind Unnarsdóttir who recorded five points during the season-opener.

Le Moyne defenders Unnarsdóttir, Rylee Alston (Endwell, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) and Katelyn Courcy (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) each played the full 90 minutes, along with goalkeeper Allison Moreau (Sauquoit, N.Y./Sauquoit Valley) as the Dolphins completed their second consecutive shutout. This time they got the win as well.

The Dolphins do have one more non-conference match scheduled for this season (against Mercy College on October 5) but their next seven games will be against Northeast-10 Conference opponents, beginning with Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, September 10 at 12:00 p.m.

The SNHU Penmen are coming off a very successful 2021 season during which they won their first NE10 Regular Season Championship in program history and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship. They finished the 2021 regular season ranked #16 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll and received votes for this year's national pre-season poll before starting the 2022 campaign off with wins against University of Bridgeport and College of Staten Island.

Every member of the Northeast-10 Conference has earned a win already this season, and five teams – including the Dolphins and Penmen – have yet to suffer a defeat.
With conference play set to begin on Saturday, the 13 women's soccer programs in the Northeast-10 hold a combined overall record of 23-5-9 so far this season against non-NE10 institutions.

Saturday's match against SNHU will be played at home on Ted Grant Field.