Birrell's four goals propel Seahawks past Corsairs, 5-4

North Dartmouth, Mass. - Freshman forward Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) scored four goals and Salve Regina scored the winning goal in the 70th minute as it defeated the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's women's soccer team, 5-4, in a non-conference game at the UMD Athletic Complex Tuesday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Liz Galla's (Beacon Falls, Conn.) goal with 20:49 remaining spoiled a comeback that saw the Corsairs rally from a 4-2 deficit to tie the score. Freshman forward Jamie Ledin (Bridgewater, Mass.) cut the Hawks' lead to 4-3 when she scored on a sliding shot with 29:07 remaining in the second half, and junior midfielder Allison Carver (Andover, Mass.) tied the score, converting a pass from freshman midfielder Shannon Rhinehart (Randolph, Mass.) less than eight minutes later.

Birrell scored SRU's first four goals. She scored twice less than three minutes apart midway through the first half to erase a 1-0 UMD lead, and then scored with 2:33 remaining in the first half to put the Hawks ahead at halftime, 3-2. Her fourth goal of the match in the 53rd minute made it 4-2, SRU.

Rhinehart opened the scoring for the Corsairs, converting a pass from senior midfielder Caitlin McCleary (Quincy, Mass.) 1:11 into the match. Senior defender Kelsey Boothby tied it at 2-2 when she connected on a free kick with seven minutes left in the first half.

The Corsairs out shot SRU, 24-14. Senior goalkeeper Katie Vaudrain (Pawtucket, R.I.) made 10 saves for the Hawks, while freshman goalkeeper Jen Warren (Somerset, Mass.) was credited with three for UMD.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they play at New England College at noon.