Box Score Lafayette Hill, Pa. - (9/2/2016) – The Chestnut Hill College women's soccer team opened the 2016 season with a bang, scoring four goals in the second half to cruise to a 5-0 victory over Barton College this evening. After a tightly contested first half, the Griffins shined under the lights at Victory Field #1, breaking the contest open with a pair of early second-half scores and couple late insurance tallies. With plenty of stars to go around, freshman forward Cecilia DuMond (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded the game-winner at 16:53, before junior midfielder Kiersten Cobb-Wilkins (Lowman, N.Y.) add two second-half goals to usher junior goalkeeper Meghan Guagenti (Pennsauken, N.J.) to her first collegiate shutout.
 
Chestnut Hill College (1-0) opened the game on the attack, peppering Barton College's (0-1) freshman goalkeeper Megan Bolick (Salisbury, N.C.) with three quality chances in the opening 13:11. Bolick was up to the challenge, however, keeping the Griffins off the board early in her first collegiate start. The Griffins continued to keep the pressure on over the ensuing minutes, drawing a foul call inside the 18-yard box to win a penalty kick for DuMond at the 16:53 mark. DuMond calmly stepped up and ripped the free strike into the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage. Play settled down during the middle portion of the period, with neither team recording a quality scoring opportunity. The Bulldogs were able to build their attack from the midfield in the latter portions of the half, earning a corner kick with 7:19 remaining. Following the corner, the Bulldogs continued to apply pressure with freshman defender Carson Molaro (Newton, N.C.) snapping a header on goal Guagenti parried aside. Barton College continued to apply pressure late into the final minute, but Guagenti continued to make huge saves to close out the half with a 1-0 lead.
 
With the halftime adjustments implemented, the second half opened where the first half closed. Both teams continued to generate quality scoring chances. The Bulldogs were first to record a chance in the frame, when junior midfielder Alex Afflerbach (Woodbury, N.J.) sent a shot to the right side of the net that Guagenti was able to turn away. Afflerbach notched another quality opportunity just 58 seconds later (47:22), but Guagenti was again up to the challenge, corralling the shot and keeping the hosts up 1-0. Inspired by Guagenti's stops, the Griffin offense took over, connecting passes through the midfield and putting pressure on the Bulldogs' defense.
 
Scoring a throw-in deep in Barton College territory, the Griffins took advantage, sending the ball to the head of sophomore midfielder Brianna Ferrell (Newton Square, Pa.), who flicked it to the waiting foot of freshman midfielder Sabrina Shinkowitz (Stratford, N.J.) for a strike to the top right corner of the goal, 2-0. The Griffins would struck again in the 52^nd minute (51:35) when sophomore midfielder Marikate O'Toole (Philadelphia, Pa.) sent a long ball up the left side to Ferrell who beat the keeper one-on-one for a 3-0 advantage. Four minutes later (55:26), a deep-positioned Cobb-Wilkins struck a pass from sophomore midfielder Molly Sullivan (Pasco, Wash.) for the fourth Griffin goal. The fifth came in the 89^th minute (88:51), when Cobb-Wilkins netted her second tally of the night with a long restart loft that cleared the keeper's head.
 
Freshman midfielder Amanda Kraft (Oshawa, Ontario) paced the Bulldogs with four shots. Four other players registered a pair of shots in the defeat. Bolick (0-1) turned aside eight shots in the loss.
 
For the Scarlet and Gold, Cobb-Wilkins led the way offensively, scoring two goals while Ferrell notched a goal and assist in the victory. Guagenti (1-0) turned aside nine shots to secure the shutout.
 
Chestnut Hill College returns to action on Tuesday, October 6, when they travel to intra-state foe Shippensburg University. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.