Richardson, Van de Water spark women's soccer to gritty 1-0 win over St. Joseph (CT)

Hartford, CT- MCLA's Hannah Van de Water converted in the 20th minute and Trailblazer keeper Megan Richardson stopped nine shots to earn the shutout as the duo led the women's soccer program to a gritty 1-0 road win over St. Joseph (CT) this afternoon.  MCLA is now 1-1 on the season while the Blue Jays fall to 2-1.

The Trailblazers were outshot 18-3 and USJ held a 7-0 edge in corners, but Van de Water made her one opportunity count.  She would take a nice feed from Caitlyn Maloney and deposit it in the net for her first goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.  MCLA was outshot 8-1 in the opening half, but Richardson stopped them all.

The hosts kept up the pressure in the second half of play, but again came up empty.  Richardson and the Trailblazer defense kept them at bay until the final minutes when USJ had a golden chance to send it to overtime.  Off a corner kick in the final minute, USJ's Amanda Ghent ripped a shot through traffic that fooled Richardson as she was shielded.  An MCLA defender cleared the ball off the line however, in effect preserving the win for the Trailblazers.

Richardson improves to 1-1 on the season for the Trailblazers.

Megan Ricci didn't record a save for USJ as she dropped to 2-1 on the season.

MCLA is back in action on Friday when they travel to Sage for a 7pm kickoff in Albany.