BOXSCORE | CUMULATIVE STATS
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Freshman Erica Conte (pictured, Caledonia/Caledonia-Mumford) scored a goal and collected an assist to lead the Nazareth women’s soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Wilkes Saturday afternoon on the first day of the Cortland Invitational in the season opener for both teams.
Conte netted the game winner late in the first half on an impressive individual performance. Freshman Meghan Finn (Cortland/Homer) sent a pass into the box from the left side that Conte ran down, beating Wilkes’ senior goalie Liz Pauly to the ball. Conte then deked around Pauly and slid the ball into the open goal in the 41st minute for her first career score.
Conte set up Nazareth’s insurance goal when she threaded a through ball to junior Rachel Cushman (Rochester/Irondequoit), who received the pass near the top of the box and beat Pauly with a high 20-yard shot that tucked under the crossbar at 63:57.
Pauly kept it a 2-0 game when she made a diving save in front on junior Kelly Finn’s (Cortland/Homer) one-touch point-blank shot in the 66th minute. Wilkes applied late pressure, earning three late corner kicks, but couldn’t get any clean shots off on freshman goalie Hillary Simon (Homer). Both Pauly and Simon finished the game with four saves.
The Golden Flyers held the advantage in shots 12-6. Nazareth plays Keene State, an earlier 2-1 winner versus Cortland, at 11 a.m. on Sunday.