SCRANTON, PA (September 28, 2022) -- The University of Scranton women's soccer team battled hard against third ranked Misericordia on Wednesday night at Weiss field, but a late second half goal proved the difference as the Cougars beat the Royals 1-0.

The Royals move to 6-2-1 on the season with the result as they resume conference play this weekend.

Scranton looked dangerous in the early stages of the first half as junior Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y. / Tappan Zee) forced an early save out of Misericordia's goalkeeper Madi Welliver in the eighth minute.

Sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Olson (Stoughton, Mass. / Ursuline Academy) made a pair of saves in the opening half but came up huge in the 55th minute when she made a diving save on a breakaway to prevent the Cougars from taking the lead. Just minutes later Misericordia's Michaela Fasolina rattled the crossbar on an effort from long range.

Olson came up big again in the 76th minute as she made another great save on an effort from the Cougars to keep the game tied at 0-0. The Royals nearly found a breakthrough in the 83rd minute when junior Claire Mulholland (Marlton, N.J. / Cherokee) was through on goal and saw her effort hit the post and get cleared by the Misericordia back line.

Four minutes later Misericordia capitalized on a deflection in the box that fell to the feet of Field who placed her shot into the back of the net.

Scranton held its own in the contest, recording nine shots to Misericordia's 16. Olson finished the game with a career-high nine saves, including seven in the second half.

The women's soccer team will be back in action on Saturday when they host Goucher at Weiss Field at 4:00 PM.

--ROYALS--