Bridgeport, Conn. - The University of Bridgeport women's soccer team defeated Mercy College 1-0 on Saturday afternoon to capture the 2013 East Coast Conference championship. The Purple Knights entered the game as the number one seed in the tournament after winning the regular season crown; Mercy was playing as the number two seed. With the victory Bridgeport improved its record on the season to 17-2-0, and Mercy is to 13-4-1.
The UB women got on the board fast as freshman Amanda Moura (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) found the back of the net with her fifth goal of 2013 at the 9:11 mark of the first half after a beautiful link up from sophomores Flo Gamby (Goffs Oak, England) and Fanny Fellevik (Stockholm, Sweden). That goal would prove to be the game-winner as it was the only tally of the day.
However it would not have been the only goal of the match had it not been for the heroics of Bridgeport senior goalkeeper Julia Hansson's (Tocksfors, Sweden) late in the first half (42:06) as she stopped a penalty kick from Mercy's MacKenzie Cochrane. Hansson, who made two saves during Saturday's match, earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the 2013 tournament.
The 2013 ECC championship is the University of Bridgeport's first women's soccer title since 2009 when UB defeated Dowling, 3-0. The Purple Knights earn an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division II Championship with the win and will now await tournament pairings that will be announced Monday, November 11 at 7:30 pm.
Provided by the Bridgeport Sports Information Department.
