Fitchburg State Downed By WPI, 3-0

Kirouac totals six saves for Falcons in first half effort 

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 11, 2010) – The Fitchburg State women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to WPI, 3-0 in non-conference action this morning.

Behind a shutout effort from freshman goalkeeper Maddie Miller (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield), the Engineers collected their first victory of the season with a three goal, 20 shot effort. Senior captain Kristen Garza (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) and freshman Megan Forti (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) led the WPI offense, combining for seven points with three goals and one assist, while junior Hailey Taylor (Colusa, Calif./Sutter) also added to the mix with her first assist of the season.

After a scoreless first half of play, WPI jumped onto the score board early in the second half as Forti netted her first goal of the season in the 59th minute. Off a deep midfield pass from Taylor, Forti beat all defenders and posted nice tough shot on net for 1-0 advantage. Garza doubled the Engineers lead exactly nine minutes later as the senior forward used a one-time slip past from Forti for her first marker of the year.

Late in the half, the Fitchburg State offense surged, registering multiple shots on net from junior Carissa Kennedy (Somerset, Mass./Bishop Stang) and Ali Landry (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham), but Miller stood strong with seven, second half saves to preserve her shutout. Garza wrapped up the game’s scoring in the final two minutes of play, tallying her second score of the game as an insurance marker.  

WPI held a slim 20-15 shot advantage, while Fitchburg State boasted a 4-2 margin in corner kicks. Freshman Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) started the contest for the Falcons in net, posting six saves in 45 scoreless minutes, while junior Melanie Berent (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) posted three saves in her second half effort. Miller finished the contest with eight saves for the Engineers.

Fitchburg State (2-1, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again on Wednesday as it hosts Eastern Connecticut State University at 7 p.m. WPI (1-4, 0-0 NEWMAC) will host Worcester State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

 WPI 3, Fitchburg State 0

Scoring:
1st Half: none
2nd Half: WPI: Megan Forti (Hailey Taylor), 58:56; WPI: Kristen Garza (Forti), 67:56; WPI: Garza (Courtney Langley), 88:10  
Goalkeeping: FIT: Jillian Kirouac (45:00), six saves; Melanie Berent (45:00), three saves; WPI: Maddie Miller (90:00), eight  saves;
Shots: FIT: 15; WPI: 20