Pios Shutout Sharks, 3-0, For First Home Win

Thursday, September 28

Fairfield, Conn.

7 p.m.

Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics

3-5-3, 2-1-0

LIU

5-6-1, 2-4-0

LIU

Sacred Heart

Photo by: Michael DeCesare

Pios Shutout Sharks, 3-0, For First Home Win

9/28/2023 10:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Kelleher records brace in career night

By: Cameron McClarren

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Behind Shea Kelleher's second-half brace, the Sacred Heart University women's soccer team earned its first home victory of the season, dispatching the LIU Sharks, 3-0, on Thursday night.

Both teams started the match looking for the early lead but could not find quality in the final third as multiple chances went begging. Late in the first frame, the Pios found their stride and opened the scoring with Shea Kelleher tallying her third goal of the season with under six minutes to play in the half. Kelleher found herself one-on-one with LIU goalkeeper Keely Thomas after deflecting a pass from Madison Palma off her defender and into an empty space outside the six-yard box, which Kelleher slotted past Thomas and into the bottom right corner of the net to give SHU a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.

The Pios doubled their lead with Kelleher's second goal of the match just over the halfway mark of the second half. After Maria Nolan's shot from the corner of the penalty area was parried by LIU's Thomas, Kelleher got the loose ball and tapped it into an open net to give the Pios a 2-0 lead in the 70^th minute.

Sophomore Morgan Bovardi added an insurance tally five minutes later as Shea Kelleher was able to keep a chance alive along the endline and, while falling down, found Bovardi who blasted a right-footed shot past the goalkeeper and into the net to give the Red & White a comfortable advantage. Graduate student Elyssa Kipperman held the Sharks at bay for the remainder of the match, accumulating five saves in the second half for a total of seven, as the Pios earned a 3-0 victory.

Top Performers:

Shea Kelleher (SHU): 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 shots on goal
Morgan Bovardi (SHU): 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 shot on goal
Madison Palma (SHU): 1 assist
Elyssa Kipperman (SHU): 7 saves, 1 shutout

Of Note:

First year Madison DiEugenio earned her first start of the season after appearing as a substitute in SHU's first 10 matches.
Senior Sofia Germano made her first appearance this season for the Pioneers and accrued 10 minutes of game action.
Kelleher's two goals and one assist is the first time she has recorded a multi-goal and multi-point match in her career.
Kipperman's seven saves matches SHU's season-high for saves made in a match that was last set on 8/25/23 in a 2-2 draw versus Yale. The seven saves is also the most saves in a match this season for Kipperman.
The 3-0 win also marks the first time that all three SHU captains appeared in a single match this season with Maria Nolan starting the match on defense with Germano and graduate student Mia Sansanelli appearing off the bench.

Up Next:
The Pioneers continue their trek through NEC play, visiting Merrimack on Sunday, October 1, in North Andover, Mass. Kickoff at Martone-Mejail Field is slated for 1 p.m. Live statistics and livestream information will be available on sacredheartpioneers.com.