Smith Takes 1-0 NEWMAC Victory Over Wellesley Soccer

WELLESLEY, Mass. --  Senior Kenza Mdarhi-Alaoui (Alexandria, Va.) scored the lone goal of the game at 47:37 of the second half to give Smith College a 1-0 victory over Wellesley College soccer in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both teams on Saturday at the Wellesley Fields Complex.

Wellesley starts their NEWMAC campaign with an 0-1 record and drops to 1-4-1 overall. Smith is now 4-2-0 overall and 1-0 in NEWMAC play.

Mdarhi-Alaoui scored the game-winning goal for Smith on a free kick less than two minutes into the second half. The goal, her third of the season, came on the Pioneers second shot of the stanza.

The Blue countered by outshooting the Pioneers 12-3 over the final 43 minutes of play, but were unable to solve Smith senior goalkeeper Shelby Hall (West Springfield, Mass.), as Hall made all four of her saves after the break to record her fourth shutout of the year.

Wellesley senior Melise Knowles (Diablo, Calif.) registered five shots to lead in the Blue in the contest. Wellesley outshot Smith 15-7 in all, while the Pioneers held the edge over the Blue in corner kicks, 6-3. Wellesley goalkeeper Olivia Reckley (Grosse Ile, Mich.) made two saves in the contest and is now 1-4-1 on the year. 

The Blue will travel to Roger Williams in a non-conference game set for Tuesday, September 19, at 4:00 PM. Smith will travel to MIT for a NEWMAC contest on Saturday, September 23, with a 3:00 PM kickoff.