Andersen Scores Twice to Lead AMCATS to First-Ever GNAC Win

PAXTON, Mass.—Sophomore Melissa Andersen (Oxford, Mass.) scored her second goal of the day with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to lead the Anna Maria College women's soccer team to a 2-1 win against Rivier University on Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

The victory marks the first league win for the AMCATS since joining the GNAC in 2011. The AMCATS improve to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in GNAC play, while the loss drops the Raiders to 5-5 overall and 0-4 in league action.

With 2:43 left to play, Andersen collected a rebound of off a saved shot by teammate Cristina Turley (Waterford, Conn.) and stuffed it home to net the game-winning goal.

Earlier in the half, Andersen gave the AMCATS a 1-0 lead in a similar scenario, and she placed a rebounded shot from teammate Arianna Masley (Oxford, Mass.) in the 54^th minute.

In the 75^th minute, the Raiders were awarded a penalty kick following a foul inside the 18-yard box. Raiders leading scorer Maggie Cohoon (Derry, N.H.) netted the goal, the 10^th of her season, with ease.

The game was evenly matched and ended with just a two-shot differential, 23-21, in favor of the AMCATS. Freshman netminder Kate Kneeland (Windham, Maine) recorded 10 saves for the AMCATS, while Rivier goalkeeper Lauren Goodspeed (Merrimack, N.H.) tallied 12 saves.

Anna Maria will search for a second GNAC victory on Saturday as they travel to take on Norwich at 3:30 p.m. The Raiders will also be on the road on Saturday against Emmanuel at 1:00 p.m. 

Andersen's game-winning goal