Aug. 28, 2009
Box Score
FAIRFIELD, CT - La Salle Women's Soccer goalkeeper Gabrielle Pakhtigian registered nine saves and Melanie Gamble scored the game's lone goal as the Explorers defeated Sacred Heart, 1-0, Friday afternoon in non-conference action.
A freshman, Pakhtigian was making her first collegiate start and became La Salle's first goalie in more than 10 years to register a shutout in her first game. The last was Kaitlin Glass (1998-01), who had five saves in a 2-0 win over Long Island on September 5, 1998.
"She played really well for us," said Head Coach Paul Royal. "She made a really big save in the last five minutes to keep them scoreless, that was huge. But the team defense was awesome as well, eliminating a lot of Sacred Heart's opportunities."
Pakhtigian was tested early as she made two stops in the match's first five minutes alone. In a three-minute stretch in the second half - between the 62nd and 65th minute - she came up with three more saves to keep the game scoreless.
In the 79th minute, the Explorers made good on just their seventh shot of the contest. Morgan Golden played a cross into the box and Sara Copare one-touched the ball back across to Gamble, who put it in the back of the net.
For Gamble it was her 12th career goal - first of the year, while Copare notched her ninth career assist and Golden her third.
"It was a very gritty game," said Royal. "The field was very tight and with the rain it was a ball-winning game. The team was resilient and stayed the course and were able to get that clutch goal to put the game away."
Sacred Heart (0-1) kept the pressure on Pakhtigian, getting off four more shots in the game's final seven minutes, two of which were wide the other two she stopped.
Pioneers goalkeeper Meghan Reichelt faced a total of eight shots and stopped five, while her team took a total of 11 shots.
With the victory, La Salle improves to 2-0 for the third straight year. The Explorers will look to equal last season's 3-0 start on Sunday, when they host UM-Baltimore County at McCarthy Stadium with a 1 PM kickoff.
