Seahawks shutout Golden Bears, 4-0

NEWPORT, R.I. - Freshman Melissa Figueiredo (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored twice in the opening 20 minutes to help lead the Salve Regina University women's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Western New England on homecoming at Reynolds Field on Saturday afternoon. The win improves the Seahawks to 5-4-0 overall and a perfect 2-0 in the conference, while the Golden Bears slip to 4-5-1 on the season and 0-2-0 during CCC play.

In addition to Figueiredo, the Seahawks received goals from senior Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) and sophomore Britt Blanchette (Hope, R.I.), while Birrell, freshman Samantha Cristante (North Haven, Conn.), senior Ashley Jamieson (Warwick, R.I.), and junior Stephanie DeLue (Hadley, Mass.) each dished-out an assist. Junior Jacqueline McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) earned the shutout victory in net for the Seahawks, making five saves to improve to 5-4-0 on the season.

Figueiredo got the Seahawks on the board just under four minutes into the contest, taking a feed from Cristante and finishing to put Salve Regina on top, 1-0.

Figueiredo was back at it in the 20th minute, scoring off a pass from DeLue to stretch the Seahawks' lead to 2-0.

That was the score heading into overtime, with the Seahawks also holding a 19-11 edge in shots.

Birrell helped put the game away for the Seahawks in the second half scoring her ninth goal of the season in the 67th minute, and then assisting Blanchette on the final score of the game in the 69th minute, sealing the 4-0 victory in the process.

Both teams return to action next Tuesday, with the Golden Bears hosting Elms at 4 p.m., and the Seahawks welcoming Bridgewater State at 3:30 p.m.