Written by Joshua Soto (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Patchogue, NY| Three seniors scored in the first half as the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) women's soccer team earned a 4-1 victory over SUNY Old Westbury at Danzi Stadium on Senior Day on Tuesday evening.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improve to 7-9-1 (6-3-0 Skyline) and claim home field advantage in the Skyline Conference first round on Saturday, while the Panthers fall to 8-7-1 (5-4-1 Skyline).

The Golden Eagles carried the momentum early in the first half and quickly recorded the first shot a minute into the game. Bellini scored the first goal of the game when she stole the ball from a Panther defender from 25 yards out for the breakaway goal at the three minute mark.

In the 15th minute senior Heather Nolan scored her the first goal of the season, when she gathered a pass from outside the box and shot it in the upper-90 to take a 2-0 lead. The Panthers would respond immediately in the 17th minute, when Mayra Bonilla ripped a shot just over the hands of Katie McGarrell.

The Golden Eagles continued to pursue an insurance goal goal later in the half and earned a corner in the 35th minute. Kristin Carroll took the corner, which led to a scramble in the box and found Jaclyn Hughes's foot and ricocheted into the open-net.

After the restart, Carroll netted a goal that bounced inside the box in the 57th minute, to extend the SJC lead to 4-1.  St. Joseph's would create a flurry of opportunities over a three minute span later in the half, when Bellini fired a rebounded ball toward goal, but it was saved by Melissa Muller.  

In a match that saw St. Joseph's outshoot its opponent 27-5, McGarrell made a total of two saves as Muller made six. The Golden Eagles also held a 3-0 corner advantage over the Panthers.

The Golden Eagles will now head into the Skyline Conference tournament as the fourth seed and play host to SUNY Old Westbury at Danzi Stadium on Saturday October 31.