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MUSTANGS DROP NON-CONFERENCE BID TO LESLEY
The Mount Ida College women's soccer team hung tough against Lesley University this Sunday afternoon on homecoming weekend but could not pull out the victory losing 3-0. The Mustangs record would drop to 3-6-1, 1-4 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference while the Lynx improved to 10-1-1, 4-0-0 in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC).
The first half did not bode well for the Mustangs giving up an early goal in the opening two minutes. Junior Jodi Fralick (Woburn, MA/Woburn) powered a shot into the left side of the net from her sister Jenna Fralick (Woburn, MA/Woburn) giving the Lynx the 1-0 advantage at the two minute mark.
Mount Ida had a couple of chances to tie the score off a re-directed pass in the top of the box to freshman Samantha Spiezo (Burriville, RI/Burriville) who one timed the shot over the net. Immediately following, senior Elise McLear (Swansea, MA/Case) had an opportunity of her own to knot it up on a rebound that she iced over the right side of the net.
If it wasn't for Mount Ida freshman Tracy Koukol, (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro) the score would have been 2-0. The Lynx got behind the defense on a breakaway, Jenna Fralick flicked a pass by Mustang keeper Meghan Begins (Jericho, VT/Jericho) and it was heading for the net. Koukol caught up to the ball before it rolled into the net and kicked it out of bounds for the much needed save to keep her team within striking distance.
The Mustangs kept pace with a very strong Lesley squad who hold the first place spot in the NECC. The teams went into the break with the visitors leading 1-0.
Lesley had two very quick chances to make it a 2-0 game in the beginning of the second half. In the opening six minutes, there was a bounding ball in front of the net that Jenna Fralick tried to finesse into the left side. But Mustang goaltender Begins, who had been solid all day long, stuffed the shot and cleared it out of the zone.
There would be another opportunity for the Lynx a minute and a half later off a cross that swiss cheesed its way through the defense for Jenna Fralick to poke in with her left foot. Unfortunately for the visitors, Fralick decided to use her right and shanked it wide.
To say Mount Ida goalie Meghan Begins was stellar is an understatement. On a tough head ball in the middle of the box by the Lynx, Begins laid out to the right and smother the shot for another ridiculously tough save, keeping the Mustangs alive.
Unfortunately for Mount Ida, Lesley had too many chances to put another goal in the net. Off a beautifully placed cross to the back post by Lynx sophomore Alyson Durben (Stow, MA/Nashoba Regional), junior Cathryn Folkestad (Ipswich, MA/Ipswich) used her head and stuck goal two into the right side giving the visitors the 2-0 outright lead.
The visitors added another meaningless in the 80th minute off a head ball by Jenna Fralick on another pretty cross by Durbin making it 3-0, sealing the victory for the Lynx, their 10th of the season.
Begins was solid for the Mustangs making 13 saves while Lynx shot stopper junior Hailee Lowe (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) denied three. The hosts were outshot by the visitors
Mount Ida will get on the road for the next three contests starting this Wednesday at Johnson & Wales University at 3:30 p.m. at Pierce Field in East Providence, Rhode Island.
