THE BASICSScore: at Gannon 7, Indiana (Pa.) 1
Location: Erie, Pa. – Gannon University Field
Records: Gannon (8-8-0, 8-7-0 PSAC) / Indiana (Pa.) (9-6-2, 8-6-1 PSAC)
The Short Story: The Gannon women's soccer team erupted for six second-half goals to capture a 7-1 win over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent Indiana (Pa.) Tuesday afternoon at Gannon University Field to remain in the hunt for a spot in the conference tournament. The Lady Knights out-shot the visiting Crimson Hawks, 28-5, in the victory. Senior
Justine Rodrigues (Georgetown, Ontario / Georgetown District) scored a natural hat trick and junior
Mani Brueckner (Valencia, Pa./Mars Area) finished with a goal and three assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED- Gannon and Indiana (Pa.) were tied at 1-1 at the end of the first half. The Crimson Hawks struck first in the 34th minute for the 1-0 lead. On a tic-tac-toe play, Riley Bartoo sent a touch pass to Brittney Kuhns, who slid the ball over to Taylor Vladic inside the box for her third goal of the season.
- The Lady Knights knotted the game at one just 18 seconds later. In the face of torrential downpour, freshman
Bethany Perri (Valencia, Pa./Mars Area) ripped a shot from 30 yards out with the ball sneaking in under the crossbar.
- Brueckner handed the Lady Knights their first lead of the match, 2-1, on an unassisted effort off a free kick from 20 yards out in the 48th minute.
- On a feed from Brueckner, junior
Kaitlyn Kissell (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) placed a shot in the left-upper 90 for a 3-1 GU lead at the 52nd-minute mark. Kissell's third goal of the season came from 30 yards out.
- Brueckner setup another Lady Knights' tally in the 55th minute for a 4-1 advantage. The junior sent a touch pass over to junior
Ally Sharpe (Holley, N.Y./Brockport), who tapped it in for her second goal of the season.
- Rodrigues scored her first goal of her natural hat trick in the 59th minute. Off a pass from Brueckner, Kissell dropped a pass inside the box with Rodrigues heading in the shot for a 5-1 lead.
- Separated by barely three minutes, Rodrigues tallied back-to-back goals to push the Lady Knights' lead to 7-1. Rodrigues' second goal of the day rang around the post, as it found its way in for her sixth of the season in the 64th minute. Her final tally came on a shot from the top of the box in the 67th minute.
GAME NOTES- Picking up her sixth win of the season, sophomore
Shannon Differ (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame C.S.S.) collected the win in just over 73 minutes of action with two saves. Sophomore
Kayla Wysocki (Avon, Ohio/Avon) recorded over 16 minutes in goal recording one save.
- The Lady Knights dominated the Crimson Hawks in shots by a 28-5 advantage, as they set a season game-high total. In the second half alone, the Lady Knights registered 17 shots.
- Rodrigues led the Lady Knights with a career game-high 11 shots including nine on goal. Kissell finished with four shots followed by Brueckner with three shots.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE- The victory moved the Lady Knights into eighth (8-7-0) in the PSAC standings with 24 points. In the conference tournament race, the Crimson Hawks remain in seventh (8-6-1) with 25 points, while Millersville ranks ninth (7-6-1) with 22 points.
- The Lady Knights improved to 9-3-1 against the Crimson Hawks in the all-time series.
- The Crimson Hawks entered the match ranked ninth in the initial NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings.
- Rodrigues and the Lady Knights each came within one goal of tying program game-highs. Jamie Shadd's eight-year old single-game goal mark (4 goals) remains intact, while the team's game-best mark (8 goals) held on after being set for the fourth time in 1998.
- The last time the Lady Knights recorded more than 28 shots came in a 1-1 tie against visiting Clarion Oct. 3, 2012, when the team registered 30 shots.
- The Lady Knights scored seven or more goals for the first time since Sept. 28, 2008. On the road, the Lady Knights secured a 7-0 win over Pitt-Johnstown in GU's first season in the conference.
UP NEXTGannon concludes the regular season on the road at Clarion as the team makes its final push toward a spot in the PSAC Tournament. The match begins at 1 p.m.
