Offense erupts for women's soccer in win over Staten Island

BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut - Four freshmen scored their first collegiate goals as the American International College women's soccer team opened the 2021 season with a 4-0 win against the College of Staten Island as part of the University of Bridgeport's Purple Knight Women's Soccer Classic on Friday, September 3.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 4, Staten Island 0
Records: AIC starts the season 1-0-0, while Staten Island falls to 0-1-0
Location: Knights Field, Bridgeport, Connecticut

KEY STATS:
Staten Island:
Sara Villacres: Loss (0-1-0), seven saves on nine shots in 76:09
Ariel Salaman: Two saves on four shots in 13:51

AIC:
Rachel Newman: One goal
Wilma Jansson: One goal
Leya Vohra: One goal
Gabby Williams: One goal
Sydney Mercier: Two assists
Jocelyn Trajkovski: One assist
Frances Powers: One assist
Tamra Zippin: Win (1-0-0), shutout (1), one save

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• AIC was in control from the outset, and notched the game's first goal inside of the first ten minutes as freshman Jocelyn Trajkovski fired a cross pass from the left sideline into the middle for rookie Rachel Newman. Newman put the ball on target from about 40 yards out, but it sailed through the goalkeeper and hit the net for her first of the season at 9:10.
• AIC continued to pressure and broke through again before the half-hour mark. The game's second tally was a beautiful cross-pass from freshman Frances Powers to classmate Wilma Jansson. The ball sailed over a defender and right to the Swedish forward just in front of the right corner of the box, and Jansson made no mistake, slotting home her first of the season at 26:40 into the lower left corner of the cage.
• The Yellow Jackets piled up chances in the early part of the second half, drawing three corners and putting three bids at the target before the match was an hour old. It was in the first part of the second frame that the Dolphins managed their lone shot on goal, a free kick that was easily corralled by junior Tamra Zippin.
• In the final minutes of the match, the Yellow Jackets put the game completely away. With continued possession deep in Dolphins territory, freshman Sydney Mercier pushed a drop pass to classmate Leya Vohra, who was lingering at the top of the 18. She took a dribble and rifled a left-footed shot home for her first of the season at 84:19.
• Mercier likewise set up the last goal, this one by classmate Gabby Williams, who took Mercier's pass in the middle of the field just above the 18 and fired the ball past the keeper for her first of the year at 88:03.

FRESHMEN MAKING NAMES FOR THEMSELVES:

• Every point credited to a Yellow Jacket during the game was by a rookie.
• The last time AIC had four different goal scorers in a game was September 28, 2016, in a 4-1 win against Le Moyne; the last time AIC did so away from home was October 24, 2010, a 5-1 win over Bentley.

QUOTABLE:

• "The first game is always high intensity. There are big emotions, and facing an ECC team, we knew it was going to be up there. I was really proud of our players," Head Coach Kevon Isa said.

NEXT UP:

• The Yellow Jackets return to Bridgeport on Sunday, September 5 to face Mercy College at 3:00 p.m.