CLARION, PA – The Gannon women's soccer team's win over Clarion on Saturday wasn't the Golden Knights' most dominant performance of the season, but the 2-1 victory was an important one.
Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) and
Sarah Fails (Girard, Pa./Villa Maria) scored as Gannon (8-2-3 overall) took over sole possession of first place in the PSAC West with a 7-1-3 record. The Golden Knights were tied with Mercyhurst for the top spot entering the day, but Slippery Rock tied Mercyhurst 0-0 as the second-place Lakers moved to 6-1-4.
Gannon did face a tough struggle for much of the game against Clarion, the last-place team in the standings.
Boden, a sophomore midfielder, opened the scoring just 5:38 into the game when she hooked a corner kick over the Clarion goalie into the high back corner of the goal.
Clarion (2-10-1 overall, 1-9-1 PSAC West) entered the game with just four goals on the season, three of them coming in a season-opening win. Despite that, the Golden Eagles quickly countered with a goal by Hailey Dobb on a breakaway created from assists by Taylor Serrano and Kylee Cross.
The score was tied 1-1 at halftime, but early in the second half, the Golden Knights struck again.
Logan Nicklas (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) skipped a beautiful pass to Fails, a senior forward, as she broke loose up the middle and shot the ball to the middle of the net past a charging goalie just 6 minutes into the half. Nicklas, who made a couple of nice moves past defenders before her pass, was credited with an assist.
For Fails, it was her team-leading seventh goal. She also leads the team 17 points and is tied with Boden and Nicklas with a team-best three assists.
Kennedy Solymosi (Eastlake, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and
Morgan Sinan (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) shared the goalkeeping duties for Gannon, and Solymosi (5-2-3) picked up the win after making four saves.
Gannon outshot Clarion 26-8 and had a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Gannon will try to retain first place in the PSAC West when it hosts Edinboro on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at McConnell Family Stadium.
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