CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – DeSales University senior Brady Walsh scored a program-record four goals as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten in the Freedom Conference with a 6-1 victory over the Manhattanville College women's soccer team on Thursday afternoon at the DUC Athletic Field.
The Valiants had no answer on the day for Walsh, who scored three times in the first 18 minutes to help give her team an insurmountable early lead. Angelica Bertola and Emily Calatayud also scored in the victory for DeSales (6-5-3, 3-0-0 Freedom), while sophomore
Melissa Barcia (Somers, N.Y./Somers) scored her first collegiate goal for Manhattanville (2-10-1, 0-2-1 Freedom).
DeSales blitzed Manhattanville from the opening whistle, getting two shots on target and a corner kick in the first 3:30 before Walsh broke the ice at the 3:56 mark, converting a give-and-go with Jessica Wetherhold for her eighth tally of the year. She scored again less than two minutes later to double the lead, and completed her second career hat trick in the 18th minute by picking up the rebound of her own shot and finding the net.
Manhattanville managed to stabilize itself somewhat after the early Bulldog surge, settling down the game and getting on the scoreboard itself when Barcia controlled a loose ball inside the box and put it home for the first of her career in the 35th minute.
The two-goal deficit only lasted five minutes, however, as Bertola regained her team's three-goal lead in the 40th minute and gave her team a 4-1 lead after 45 minutes.
Walsh netted her record fourth goal in the 53rd minute to complete her day, and Calatayud completed the scoring soon after in the 60th minute.
For the game, DeSales outshot Manhattanville by a 28-3 margin, including 15-0 in the second half. Sophomore
Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) made seven saves for the Valiants despite ceding the six goals, while Michelle Churchman made one save and allowed one goal in just over 66 minutes of action to earn the win.
The road gets no easier for the Valiants this weekend, as Manhattanville hosts NSCAA and D3soccer.com #18 Misericordia University on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at GoValiants.com Field.
