Dean at home facing Mitchell.
(Photo Courtesy: deanbulldogs.com)
FRANKLIN- On a beautiful afternoon at Grant Field that eventually turned rainy, the 2-1 Dean College Bulldogs Women's Soccer team overcame the scorching heat with terrific offense, topping the Mitchell Mariners at home 3-0.
High temperatures in the sky were not the only heat brewing early. Jazzy Sztyler-Magee continued her hot start to the season by setting up herself and the Bulldog team with many offensive opportunities. In the first few minutes of play, Sztyler-Magee and the team produced lively action around Mariners goalie Gemma Landry’s net, keeping her moving and on her feet.
With Dean’s early offensive threats, the Mariners had to rely on their strong defense while trying to produce some offense of their own. Aside from Dean’s early chances around goal, Mitchell covered their net well, denying Dean of sneaking one through and jumping out in front. Though the Mariners went unscathed for a while, Dean’s relentless attacks around the net eventually paid off in their favor as they eventually broke through.
Approaching the fifteen-minute mark, red-hot Sztyler-Magee broke through with a goal on a terrific assist by Kacie Consolini, giving her team a 1-0 lead.
In the blink of an eye, Sztyler-Magee struck again just sixteen seconds later to push the lead to 2-0.
Following their two quick goals, Dean’s offense began to cool off, while the Mariners were still searching for answers on their front.
Towards the conclusion of the first half, the Mariners' Morgan Fontaine continued her efforts in creating some traffic on Dean's end, but the Mariners could not join Dean on the scoreboard, trailing 2-0 at halftime.
After struggling to score in the first, the Mariners found an adjustment, starting to form a rhythm offensively. Despite the Mariner's strong efforts, scoring remained a struggle.
Following a Mitchell miscue leading to a penalty ten minutes in, Lea Bettencourt would capitalize and score on the violation, extending Dean’s lead on the free kick.
Due to unsafe weather conditions forecasted with five minutes left in the game, Dean would accept the 3-0 victory as the game would be called and official.
After hearing from Bulldogs head coach, Ashley Magruda-Wood, she believes that by her team’s large amounts of pressure and constant switching of the field, Dean had succeeded well in controlling Mitchell’s backline.
The Bulldogs look to extend their winning streak to three as they remain home to face Elms College on Wednesday, September 13th at 4:00 p.m.