DANBURY, Conn. – Sophomore Autumn Sorice's (Bethet, Conn.) goal at 58:20 would prove to be the game winner as the Western Connecticut State University women's soccer team edged Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2-1, in a non-conference contest played at the Westside Athletic Complex.
Winners of four in a row the Colonials improve to 7-4-0 while the Leopards dropped their second straight to slip to 5-4-1 on the season.
The Colonials took an early lead when Sorice set up senior Sarah Menta (Newington, Conn.) along the right side for her third marker of the season at 5:07. That goal would be the only one scored in the first half as Western held a 12-5 shot advantage.
Sorice put Western Connecticut ahead by a 2-0 score when she took advantage of a misclear by the Leopards and tucked the ball inside the left post.
Wentworth pulled within a goal with 12:12 remaining when sophomore Mary Pastorelli (Whitesboro, N.Y.) recorded her first career marker. Pastorelli blasted a deep shot which skipped off the turf and over the head of Colonial freshman Jillian Fernandez (Columbia, Conn.). The Leopards would put a shot on goal in the 82nd minute, however Fernandez would make the save to preserve the win.
Fernandez made six saves to pick up the win for Western Connecticut while senior Nicole Leahey (Warwick, R.I.) made four saves in the loss for the Leopards. The Colonials finished with a 20-13 shot advantage, while Wentworth had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
Wentworth hosts Eastern Nazarene on Saturday in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest.
