Stephanie Marinelli, Managing Editor
The Macs faced a rainy, cold, away match at Gwynedd Mercy University this afternoon, along with a solid opponent.
Starting off the first half strong, Rachael MacNamee, ranked 5th in “Shots on Goal” by the Atlantic East Conference, boasted the first scoring opportunity at around the 5-minute mark, as the Macs held the Griffins in their own defensive half. At 9:46, the Griffins came back, off a breakaway, to score the only goal of the match. This follows MacNamee’s close scoring chance in the 8th minute of play, supported by Hannah Phillips, who ranks 3rd in “Shots on Goal” for the Atlantic East Conference, Jessica Gindle (who ranks 10th), and Kelsey Caldarelli’s (who ranks 8th) solid passing triangles and overall ball movement.
Gina Marinelli, who currently holds the second-place spot in “Saves Per Game,” by the Atlantic East Conference, came almost entirely out of the box at the 28th minute, to stop a potential break-away by swiftly charging the offender, and kicking the ball out.
At the end of the first half, Immaculata had nine shots, with three on frame. Mia Perrone and Maria Granitto contributed to this statistic, along with all other offensive players mentioned thus far.
The second half seemed favorable, from the start, as Brianna Latham had a shot in the 48th minute, with Granitto and Perrone following suit, shortly after. Furthermore, the first 12 minutes specifically, looked promising for the Macs, as Janelle Kern executed an impressive kick from just past the halfway line, which barely missed the upper netting, hitting the crossbar.
At 58:40, Marinelli comes out again, to cut off a Griffins breakaway, diving to snatch a potential shot. Immaculata’s defense, which includes Bella Masino, Samantha Seidito, and Janelle Kern, provided quite impressive coverage here, to ensure no further opportunities could be capitalized on.
The rest of the match played out as a back-and forth, with both teams fighting to get the ball in the back of the net.
In total, Immaculata had 24 shots on goal, with the 8 on-frame mainly led by McNamee (2), Phillips (2), and Gindle (2), while Marinelli saved four out of five shots faced.
***Note – Atlantic East statistics are subject to frequent change
Sources
https://gwyneddathletics.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/media
https://gwyneddathletics.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
https://gomightymacs.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster
