Paradoski and Elon Women’s Soccer Earn a 3-0 Victory at William & Mary

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Taylor Paradoski scored twice in the first half and assisted Tori Baliatico’s goal in the 66th minute as the Elon University women’s soccer team defeated the William & Mary Tribe, 3-0, on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.

BOX SCORE

Paradoski scored her second and third goals of the season in a span of two and a half minutes late in the first half to give the Phoenix a 2-0 lead before the break. Baliatico’s counter-attacking goal and Elon’s strong defensive play in the second half sealed a 3-0 CAA road win.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this group of young women for getting this win, said head coach Chris Neal. “To go on the road in this league and earn result against a team that has the quality and tradition that William & Mary has is incredible. This is one of the proudest moments of my coaching career.”

The Phoenix improves to 7-5-1 overall and 2-1 in CAA play after the victory. William & Mary’s overall record falls to 7-5-0 overall and 1-2 in conference play after the loss.

HIGHLIGHTS
Elon’s first opportunity came in the sixth minute as a cross from Bria Bass clanked off the crossbar. Following several chances from the Tribe, Paradoski and Rakel Jonsdottir had shots blocked and Olivia Lucia’s attempt was saved after 30 minutes had gone by in the half.

Paradoski finally made the breakthrough with a clam finish off Nyah Spearman’s through-ball in the 38th minute to put the Phoenix ahead 1-0. Less than two minutes later after the maroon and gold won a free kick, the Rochester, Michigan native slotted home a redirected ball from Jonsdottir to extend Elon’s lead to 2-0 heading into halftime.

In the second half, William & Mary came out firing with three shots in the first 12 minutes, but the Tribe couldn’t find the back of the net. Paradoski continued to cause problems for the Tribe in the 61st minute. She crossed a ball to Sydney Schilling’s head, but the attempt went over the goal.

After Baliatico’s first breakaway chance of the half at the 65:06 mark missed wide right, she redeemed herself on the next opportunity. Receiving another through-ball from Paradoski, Baliatico scored just 30 seconds later to extend the lead to 3-0 with just under 25 minutes to play.

William & Mary’s closest chance of the match came in the 69th minute. The Tribe won a free kick, Elysse Branton’s shot hit the crossbar and an Elon defender blocked Sarah Segan’s follow-up shot.
The Tribe would muster three more shots in the final minutes, but the Phoenix held on for the 3-0 shutout victory.

Taylor Mohr was big for the Phoenix making seven saves and earning her third shutout of the season. William & Mary did win the shot count 18-9 and had a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.

NOTES
– Taylor Paradoski tallied five total points in the win with two goals and an assist.
– The win was Elon’s first-ever victory against William & Mary. Elon’s series deficit against the Tribe has been cut to 2-1.
– Elon moves into a tie for third in the league with six points through three matches and has a game in hand against the rest of the least, with the exception of William & Mary, UNCW and College of Charleston.
– This is the first time that the program has won two of its first three conference games since the 2010 season. At the start of Southern Conference play in 2010, Elon defeated Samford and Davidson and fell to Chattanooga.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues CAA play heading north for challenging road matchups at Hofstra on Friday, Oct. 7 and at Northeastern on Sunday, Oct. 9.