La Plume, Pa. –
Jenna Moranski (Gardiner, N.Y./New Paltz) scored just under two minutes into the second half of Friday afternoon's season's opening women's soccer game to bring Keystone College level with the College of Staten Island, but the Dolphins used a pair of late goals to pull away with a 3-1 victory in the non-conference contest.
Both teams had several good chances in the opening 15 minutes of play with Keystone (0-1) nearly claiming the contest's first goal in the 17
th minute when
Hannah Richner (Nicholson, Pa./Mountain View) was denied by Staten Island goalkeeper Kaila DiBenedetto from close range before
Faith Shiffer (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove)'s rebound attempt went just over the crossbar.
The Dolphins (1-0) were able to forge ahead in the 20
th minute when Victoria Sanchez took a thru-ball from Stephanie LaPointe and found the back of the net to give the visitor's a 1-0 lead.
Staten Island would hold the one-goal edge at halftime while outshooting the Giants 10-3 over the opening 45 minutes of action.
Keystone tied the game just 1:40 into the second half when Moranski found the back of the net. Richner started the play by squaring a ball across the face off goal to
Nisa Cortes (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady), whose close-range shot was saved by DiBenedetto before falling to Moranski, who was able to deposit the rebound for the equalizer in the 47
th minute.
The hosts appeared to go ahead less than 10 minutes later, but an apparent goal off of a restart was disallowed by an offsides call.
Staten Island reclaimed the lead in the 64
th minute when Adrianna Parello scored on a direct kick from 25 yards out that tucked into the top corner of the net to give the Dolphins a 2-1 edge.
Brittany Bornstead added an insurance marker in the 87
th minute for the Dolphins, one-timing home a loose ball from the top of the penalty area following a corner kick for the visitors.
Staten Island held a 17-6 advantage in shots for the game including an 11-5 lead in shots on goals. The Dolphins, who got four saves from DiBenedetto, also held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks on the afternoon.
Keystone goalkeeper
Sarah Heintz (Glenside, Pa./Abington) turned aside eight shots on the day for the hosts.
The Giants will return to action on Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference game at Penn State Brandywine starting at 2:00 p.m.