Women’s Soccer Drops Conference Clash at Colby-Sawyer

NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Rivier women's soccer team fell to Colby-Sawyer, 5-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match on Wednesday afternoon at the Kelsey Soccer Field.

The loss marked the first conference defeat of the season, with the team previously notching a 7-0-1 ledger in GNAC play. The streak had matched their program-best unbeaten streak, going 5-0-1 over the past six games.

With the result, Rivier now stands at 7-4-3 overall (7-1-1 GNAC), while Colby-Sawyer improved to 6-4-4 (4-2-3 GNAC).

Colby-Sawyer started strong, creating chances early and often, and eventually broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute. The Chargers outshot the Raiders 8-1 and earned seven corners in the opening forty-five minutes.

The Chargers kept pushing the Raider defense, adding three more goals in quick succession to take a 4-0 lead with 19 minutes to play. First-year Ava Noble halted the run off a pass from sophomore Paige Barnes, scoring her third goal of the season to make it 4-1. Bridget O'Connell responded in the 86th minute, scoring her fourth goal of the game to seal the 5-1 win for Colby-Sawyer.

Junior goalkeeper Bri Nugent recorded seven saves in the match.

The Raiders turn their focus to Senior Day on Saturday, Oct. 12, as they prepare for a matchup against Albertus Magnus at Merrill Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.