Dion Scores Twice in Merrimack's 3-2 Setback at Pace
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior forward Danielle Dion (Grosvenordale, Conn.) continued her torrid scoring pace with two more goals, but the Merrimack women's soccer team could not rally from a three-goal deficit, falling 3-2 at Pace on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors see their three-game unbeaten streak come to an end and fall to 4-2 on the season with a 2-1 mark in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Setters, meanwhile, improve to 2-2-2 with a 2-1 mark in league play.
The home side did not wait long to strike, as Allyson Dyl scored an unassisted tally in the 12th minute to put Pace up front, 1-0.
Nearly 20 minutes later, the Setters doubled the lead as Jillian Ferro took a feed from Dyl and sent it home to give Pace a 2-0 lead in the 31st minute of the first half.
But that would not be all for the Setters, as Lia Gagliardi made it a three-goal lead after taking a pass from Dyl and beating Merrimack keeper Nicole Curtis (Billerica, Mass.) to up the advantage to 3-0 with just more than 10 minutes to go in the first stanza.
Despite out-shooting the Setters by an 8-6 margin in the first half, the Warriors did not get anything to show for it on the scoreboard, as Courtney Hagen turned aside four shots for the home team to keep the visitors off the board.
Merrimack finally broke through nearly 20 minutes into the second half, as Dion tickled the twine, unassisted, for her team-leading sixth goal of the year, clawing the Warriors to within two goals.
The junior cut the deficit to one in the 83rd minute, taking a feed from senior Jenna Zechner (Billerica, Mass.) before beating Hagen to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
But with less than eight minutes to play from there on out, the Warriors were stymied in the closing moments of the game, as Hagen and the Setters held on despite a late barrage and despite Merrimack holding a 12-7 advantage in shot attempts in the second half.
"This one's definitely going to sting, that's for sure," head coach Gabe Mejail said afterward. "We started slow and all of a sudden we found ourselves down by three goals. It doesn't matter who you're playing, trying to come back from three goals is extremely difficult."
Curtis finished the match with six saves, while Hagen recorded 10 stops in net. The Warriors also held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
"Tip your cap to Pace, they beat us fair and square," Mejail said. "We'll have to regroup and for another big one at Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday."
After two days off, the Warriors head north to take on conference rival Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday, Sept. 18. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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