This week in Suffolk University sports: volleyball picks up landmark win, men’s soccer boosts conference record, women’s golf picks up second straight win and women’s tennis grabs first win of the season.
Volleyball picks up landmark win
Facing Johnson & Wales University Oct. 3 for the first time since 2019, volleyball picked up an important 3-0 win against the Wildcats. Not only was it only the second time they had defeated the Wildcats in program history, but it snapped a 27 match losing streak against Johnson & Wales that dated back to 1997.
Prior to the win, the last time the Rams had even won a set against the Wildcats was in October of 2013. Suffolk raced out to an early advantage in the first set to get started on the right foot. Set two was a closer battle and set three required a comeback, but the Rams got the job done to seal the deal against the Wildcats. Both wins against Johnson & Wales have come on the road.
Women’s soccer has winless week
Going up against Rivier University in a non-conference battle Oct. 2 women’s soccer couldn’t break the ice on the road. The defense for both Suffolk and Rivier stepped up as neither side could get a goal in a 0-0 stalemate. Sophia Barker only had to make one save in goal for the Rams, while Rivier goalie Bri Nugent made seven saves.
Against the University of Hartford Oct. 5, the Rams couldn’t keep the Hawks off the board in a 3-1 loss. Chelsea Fallon’s goal early in the first half brought the score to 1-1 before the Hawks scored two unanswered goals to make it 3-1. The Rams were unable to beat Hartford goalie Sejal Johnson again. Rams goalie Arden Ferrari-Henry made 11 saves out of 14 shots.
Men’s soccer stays unbeaten in conference play
Taking on Hartford in East Boston Oct. 5, men’s soccer won a Conference of New England showdown to improve to 5-3-3 on the season and 2-0-1 in CNE play.
After a scoreless first half, the Rams finally got on the board in the 68th minute on Diego Pierantozzi’s second goal of the season. They put the game away in the dying minutes when Pierantozzi and Matthew Belluardo assisted on a Francisco Valck goal, the sophomore’s fifth goal of the season and first since a Sept. 10 win over Framingham State University.
Facing nationally ranked Babson College on the road Oct. 8, the Rams couldn’t carry the momentum over as they lost 1-0. Suffolk goalie Nathan Harlow stopped five of the six shots on goal he faced, but the Rams couldn’t land a shot at Babson goalie Walker White.
Women’s golf stays winning
Competing in the New England Classic hosted by Gordon College Oct. 5, women’s golf won their second event in a row as they look to defend their Northeast Women’s Golf Conference title.
In the three team field, the Rams finished with a score of 305, crushing host Gordon with 407 and the University of New England with 416.
The four golfers in action for the Rams took the top four spots in the individual standings. Freshman Krisna Mahendran had her second straight first place finish by shooting a 70. Sophomore Brooke Bugajewski took second place with 76, while freshman Emory Goodson came in third with 79 and Ella Torsleff finished in fourth with 80.
Cross country takes on national meet
Men’s and women’s cross country took on a national field at the Division III pre-national championships Oct. 4 in Terre Haute, Indiana, the third meet of the season for both squads.
The women’s squad was the second highest finishing East region team behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who won the meet with 45 points. Graduate student Amalia Dorion led the way with a 22:34.9 six kilometer finish as the second fastest CNE runner on the course, behind only Gordon’s Rachel Brennan. That time was good for a 52nd place finish in the field of 389 runners.
The men’s squad took on the eight kilometer race and finished in 28th place out of 46 teams. Senior captain Tim Barry paced the Rams on the course as he finished in 25:21.67, landing in the top 40 in the field of 405 runners. He was the fastest CNE runner on the course and was the fourth fastest runner from the East region.
Women’s tennis avoids winless season
On the road against Simmons University Oct. 4, women’s tennis lost their eighth straight match with a 4-3 setback to the Sharks. Simmons won the doubles point as all three Rams points came in singles play. Rachel Hill, Chloe Pszenny and Elene Nishnianidze picked up singles wins.
The next day, the Rams picked up their first win of the season by beating Western New England University 5-2. The Rams swept doubles play and took home four wins in singles matches to topple the Golden Bears. It was the first time Suffolk had beaten WNE in program history and goes down as the first win of Zack Goodstein’s head coaching career.
Against Emerson College Oct. 8, the Rams couldn’t get their second win in a row as they fell 4-3 to the Lions. Emerson swept doubles play as the Rams got all three points in singles play.
