Women's Soccer Opens Season with a 1-0 Victory off a Last Minute Goal from McDonough

CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Elms College Women's Soccer team hosted Thomas College in a non-conference game for their 2025 season opener at Leary Field on Friday afternoon. 

BASICS
Score: Elms College 1 | Thomas College 0
Records: Blazers 1-0-0, 0-0-0 (GNAC) | Terriers 0-1-0, 0-0-0 (NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blazers came out early in their first game determined to get a win. Within the first twenty minutes of the game, Elms had already taken seven shots on goal. Even though Thomas goalkeeper would make a couple of good saves, the Blazers were undeterred and continued to be aggressive on offense. Late in the first half, the Terriers offense would make their way up the field a handful of times to threaten the Elms defense and first year goalkeeper Sofia Rivers (Hamilton, Ohio), but the Blazers buckled down on defense and went into the half with a 0-0 tie. 

Elms continued to pressure Thomas College with multiple shots on goal, but the Blazers could not break through and take the lead. Rivers would continue to make crucial saves early on in the second half to preserve the tie which gave the Blazers momentum, but ultimately resulted in a plethora of saved shots. Late in the second half, junior forward/midfielder Emily Basua (Oxnard, Calif.) peppered the Thomas defense with three shots on net, which gave the Blazers a late corner kick. First year forward/midfielder Caitlin Willard (Northampton, Mass.) took the kick and lofted it nicely in the air to senior forward Jamie McDonough (Dedham, Mass.), who scored the breakthrough goal to put Elms up 1-0 late. Less than two minutes later, the final whistle blew, giving the Blazers a well earned win to start their season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• McDonough would score the lone goal of the season opener, with three shots on net.

• Basua would take a team leading seven shots, with two on net, throughout the contest, followed by Little with five shots, Niemiec with three, Pugo and Montano with two, and Saunders, Figlewski, Lewia, Willard, McGuire, Ramos, and Moore each taking one.

• Rivers would face one shot on net and record the save.

UP NEXT: The Elms Women's Soccer team will host UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday, August 30th at 4 pm in a non-conference game at Leary Field.

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