SHU midfielder Leigh Dogmanits (Walnutport, PA) had a pair of shots late but Blackbird goalkeeper Jessica Sexton made diving saves to prevent a Pioneer comeback Friday night at Campus Field.  Katie Egan scored the only goal of the game with 20:57 remaining in regulation by slotting home a loose rebound in front of the net.

Long Island (9-1-2, 3-0-1 NEC) nearly opened the scoring just ten minutes into the opening stanza as SHU goalie Meghan Reichelt (Selden, NY) made a diving stop on a dangerous cross from Caitlin Meadows.  Reichelt finished the game with four saves in net for the Pioneers while her counterpart Sexton tallied six.  Both teams found chances at the end of the first half, Ashley Moore (Levittown, NY) floated a header just over the crossbar on a feed from Samantha Kee (Haskell, NJ) with 8:00 on the clock.  Three minutes later Mulvey flicked a header on net from a Kee throw-in but the LIU goaltender made a jumping stop.

Sacred Heart (5-4-3, 1-1-1 NEC) almost jumped on top early in the second half as Kee sent in a low cross from the left side.  LIU defender Renee McCaleb attempted to make a sliding interception but knocked the ball hard towards her own goal.  Sexton was alert and turned away the inadvertent shot to keep her shutout intact.  The Blackbirds took a 1-0 advantage scoring the first goal against the SHU defense in over 400 minutes of play.  Nikki Labo put a header on net that Reichelt stopped but couldn't steer out of play, Egan followed the effort and put in the easy rebound for her first goal of 2010.

After the Blackbirds missed an open net with 4:04 to play, keeping the game at 1-0, the Pioneers put an enormous amount of pressure on the LIU backline in the final minutes of regulation.  Alyssa Brandofino (East Northport, NY) swung in a corner kick that Dogmanits headed towards goal but only resulted in another corner kick.  Brandofino got the rebound after the second set piece play and fired a hooking shot towards the net that finished just wide to the right.    Dogmanits broke free one-on-one  with 1:20 to play and fired a hard shot to the right of the LIU keeper that appeared to tie the game.  But Sexton dove full extension to rob the Pioneer senior captain.  LIU held on in the final minute to preserve the shutout and 1-0 victory over the home team.

The Pioneers will look to rebound with another game at Campus Field on Sunday, October 10th.  Kick-off is slated for 3:00 pm.