Women’s Soccer Soars Over Eagles; Rose Breaks Assist Record

Nov. 5 - (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon women’s soccer team put together their best first half performance of the season on senior day as they held on to defeat University Athletic Association opponent Emory University 4-2 on Sunday, November 5 at Gesling Stadium.

Sophomore forward Abby Coffin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) recorded a hat trick in the first half alone, with goals in the sixth, 16th, and 19th minutes. Coffin’s first goal came on a header off a cross from junior forward Kasey Stever (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Stever also assisted on Coffin’s second goal, when she passed the ball back to Coffin before Coffin blasted a shot from 25 yards out into the net over the outstretched arms of Eagles goalie Amy Franciscovich. Junior defender/midfielder Amanda Rose’s (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West) corner kick set up Coffin’s third goal. Coffin ran toward and powerfully headed Rose’s kick into the net to put Carnegie Mellon up 3-0.

The Tartans controlled the flow of the first half through strong midfield play en route to taking a three goal lead into halftime. Emory came out and controlled the second half from the kickoff and netted goals in the 53rd and 64th minutes to cut the Tartan lead to one. Eagles forward Ali Sullivan received a through pass from midfielder Alexa Wahr and shot the ball past Tartan sophomore goalkeeper Christie Adams (Kingsville, Md./Mercy) to get Emory on the board. Forward Whitney Briggs one-timed a cross from Wahr into the net to bring the Eagles within one, but would get no closer.

The Tartans had very few offensive attacks in the second half, but the tandem of sophomore midfielder Mary Ashe (Rockville, Md./Wootton) and junior forward/midfielder Jess Howard (Brookline, Mass.) combined on Carnegie Mellon’s fourth goal that let the Tartan faithful breath a little easier. In the 84th minute, Howard received a lead pass from Ashe on the right side of the field, just outside the 18-yard box, and Howard dribbled and took a shot that deflected off Franciscovich and slowly trickled into the net.

Emory held the shot advantage 15-7 for the game, including 12-3 in the second half. Adams made seven saves for Carnegie Mellon and Franciscovich collected two. Sophomore defender Sarah DeWath (Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista) came up huge for Carnegie Mellon in the 51st minute when she cleared a shot from the goal line, preserving the shutout for the time being.

Coffin’s third goal of the game was record-setting, as Rose broke the school career assist record of 23. The goal gave her eight assists on the season, and 24 now in her career. Today was Coffin’s second hat trick of the season and only the fifth hat trick in school history. With today’s accomplishment she becomes the first Tartan in school history to have multiple three goal games.

The Tartans end the regular season with a record of 8-7-1 and 3-4 in the UAA. The Tartans will find out Monday afternoon if they earn a bid to the ECAC tournament.