ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's soccer team turned in a complete effort on Wednesday afternoon as the Golden Knights kept their PSAC West winning streak alive with a 4-0 win over rival Edinboro.
After leading 1-0 at the half, Gannon erupted for three goals in the second half at McConnell Family Stadium as GU claimed its seventh victory in a row. The Knights improved to 9-2-1 overall and 9-1-0 in the PSAC West.
Sophomore midfielder Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) scored twice and added an assist to lead Gannon.
She scored at the 16:47 mark of the first half when freshman forward Brooklyn Respecki (McKean, Pa./General McLane) got loose to the left of the box and sent a crossing pass to a charging Fadale, who booted the ball past the Edinboro goalie for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way until halftime as Gannon outshot Edinboro 14-7 in the half, including 7-1 in shots on goal.
Fadale then padded Gannon's lead just 37 seconds into the second half.
Respecki again sent a pass to Fadale in the middle of the box. After the Edinboro goalie stopped Fadale's first shot attempt, the ball ricocheted back to Fadale, who slid a second shot past the diving goalie on the right side.
Gannon then put the game away with two goals in a span of 1:03 midway through the second half. First, Respecki found junior forward Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) open in front of the goal, and Boden finished with a missile of a shot. Respecki was credited with her second assist of the game, giving her a team-high seven assists and 23 points to go with her team-leading eight goals.
About a minute later, freshman midfielder Grace Emanuel (Erie, Pa./McDowell) fed Fadale down the right side, and she sent a pass across the box to junior midfielder Jamie Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum), who scored on a header on the left side of the goal.
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Fadale is now tied for second on the team with six goals and ranks third with 13 points.
Gannon finished with a 27-9 edge in shots and a 15-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Morgan Sinan (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) earned the win in goal but had to make only one save as Gannon's defense frequently shut down Edinboro scoring opportunities in the box.
The Knights completed a regular-season sweep of the Fighting Scots after beating them 3-1 at Edinboro on Sept. 6.
Edinboro dropped to 3-6-3 overall and 3-5-2 in the PSAC West.
Gannon will head on the road for two games, starting with a game at California (Pa.) on Saturday at noon.
