Pride Women’s Soccer Defeats USJ, 2-0

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College picked up three crucial points in its quest for a top four seed in the upcoming league tournament, defeating University of Saint Joseph, 2-0, Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's soccer match at Regis Stadium.

USJ took early control of the possession and took three shots in the span of 10 seconds, with the closest being Jenna Zup's attempt that hit the right post. The Blue Jays continued to create solid scoring chances, but Regis starting goalie Ori Attridge (Westwood, Mass.) turned away two USJ shots within the span of just over two minutes.

In the 35^th minute, Valerie Gordon (Hudson, N.H.) raced down the right side of the field and found Allison Meade (Stoneham, Mass.) just ahead of her on the right wing. Meade blasted a shot past USJ goalie Victoria Schaffner into the net for her third goal of the season.

The second half began with the majority of action in the middle of the field before Regis put together a sustained attack midway through the half. After a shot by Sam Perkins (Whitman, Mass.) was punched out of bounds by Schaffner, Miya Nishibun (Honolulu, Hawaii) sent a corner kick into the box, where Aria Ulmer (Henniker, N.H.) collected it and connected on a shot into the net for her third goal of the year.

With the assist, Nishibun tied the Regis single-season points record, earning her second assist to go along with 13 goals for 28 total points. That equals the record total established by Adena Joseph in 2011.

Attridge and Angie Caldwell (Goffstown, N.H.) combined on a shutout for the fourth time this season, with each senior keeper earning two saves. Schaffner finished with two saves in over 69 minutes in net for the Blue Jays before Lindsey Montminy took over between the pipes, making two saves in 20:33.

The Pride outshot the Blue Jays, 16-11, with Perkins and Hailey Lovell (Wakefield, Mass.) leading Regis with three shots apiece. Two USJ players, Riley Jackson and Ali O'Neil, were tied for their team lead, also with three shots each.

With the victory, Regis moves into solo fourth place in the GNAC standings with 22 points, one point ahead of Albertus Magnus in fifth place and three points in front of USJ and Elms in a sixth place tie.

Regis (8-4-1, 7-3-1 GNAC) heads to Nashua, N.H., to face Rivier University Saturday, Oct. 23, starting at 1:30 p.m. USJ (9-3-1, 6-3-1 GNAC) also makes a trip to New Hampshire Saturday, Oct. 23, visiting Colby-Sawyer College for a 1 p.m. kickoff.