Women’s Soccer Explodes For 8-1 Victory Over Wilson

AURORA, N.Y. – Senior captain Paige Stone (Madison, N.Y.) tied a career high mark with a seven point game (3-1=7) as the Wells College women's soccer team posted an 8-1 victory over the Phoenix of Wilson College Saturday afternoon at the North Athletic Field. With the victory, the Express improve to 4-11 overall on the year and also collect their second North Eastern Athletic Conference victory (2-6). The Phoenix fall to 2-12 overall and drop their eighth game within the conference (1-8).

Junior Chelsey Martinelli (Chichester, N.H.) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 17:39 of the first half, lifting the Express to a 2-0 lead. Within the goal box, midfielder Shannon Blanford (Fayetteville, N.Y.) one-touched a pass to Stone who was near the center of the goal mouth. Stone extended the play by quickly feeding a crashing Martinelli, who converted her second career goal by forcing the ball past Phoenix goaltender Katie Murphy.

Freshman midfielder Karley Raczynski (Fonda, N.Y.) opened the scoring in the game, forcing home a Heather Hiltbrand (Fayetteville, N.Y.) corner kick at 3:29 of the contest. Raczynski battled through the Wilson defense to score the game's first goal.

Stone went on to score the next three goals for the Express, scoring her second, third and fourth goals of the season en route to the victory. The hat trick was Stone's third of her four year career and she tied her career high of seven points in one game – she also scored seven points (3-1=7) against Gallaudet University on Sept. 25, 2011.

Emma Kurtenbach scored her team's first goal of the afternoon at 34:09 of the opening half, cutting the Express lead to 4-1. An Express turnover near the left side of the field set the stage for Brittney Poff, who collected the loose ball and threaded a pass through the Wells defense. Kurtenbach crashed the right post and was able to beat Express goaltender Ashley Roser (Taberg, N.Y.) for her team's first goal.

Blanford collected a goal of her own at 72:43 of the second half, catching midfielder Gianna Kerr's (Branford, Conn.) one-touch pass and forcing it past Murphy for the strike. Midfielder Savannah Tucker (Rochester, N.Y.) scored off of a Phoenix turnover just under a minute later at 73:57 of the second half, extending the lead to 7-1.

Defenseman Lauren Dunster (Auburn, N.Y.) collected her first collegiate point and her first collegiate goal at 79:20 of the second half. Streaking up the right flank, Dunster was able to power a blast on goal that eluded the grasp of Murphy for the goal. Dunster, a transfer student from Cayuga Community College, earned her first two points in 33 career contests.

Aside from Stone's seven points, Hiltbrand chipped in three points (0-3=3) by recording assists on three separate goals. Hiltbrand becomes the only Express player dating back to the start of the 2008 season to collect three helpers in a game. The last time the Express scored eight or more goals came on Sunday, Oct. 25 as the squad scored 10 separate times against Wilson in a 10-0 Express victory.

Roser (4-11) collects her fourth victory of the season, halting four of Wilson's five shots on goal in the game. Murphy (2-12) drew her 12th loss of the season, turning aside 19-of-27 shots on net that she faced.

The Express return to action on Sunday, Oct. 14 as they host The College of Saint Elizabeth in a 1:00 p.m. contest at the North Athletic Field. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Wells College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WellsExpress) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WellsExpress).