NEW YORK A.C. 4, BAY STATE SELECT 0

EASTON, MA (05/09/2009) - The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) East Conference kicked off the 2009 season with the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) traveling to Stonehill College to face the Bay State Select team. The 4-0 victory gave NYAC rookie coach Alex Lau his first career win in the WPSL.

"The game itself was not as one-sided as the final score might lead one to believe," said to Lau. "No, not one-sided at all. Bay State Select had 14 shots on us, we had 15 shots on them. We took advantage of a few of our chances, and our stellar defense and goalkeeping kept a clean sheet for us."

Bay State Select had on its roster many players coming off of their first year of collegiate experience, complemented by skillful and experienced veterans like Liz Lima and Erica Mastrogiacomo. NYAC had its own combination of youth and experience. Among the veterans on the NYAC side are Alisha Moran (an Irish international) and Eleri Earnshaw (a Welsh international). Lima and Moran, of course, are no strangers to each other - they were teammates at Harvard.

It was a hotly contested game, as the referees were kept busy with 18 fouls, a caution and an ejection.

"Both teams wanted the win, and both offenses created desperate moments for the opponent's defense," Lau.

The game started tentatively for NYAC - back passes didn't quite seem to travel fast enough; one-touch, two-touch passes intended to get them out of tight spots weren't finding the open spaces and targets. The first goal for NYAC came in the 25th minute, when midfielder Katie McDermott slipped a pass to slippery forward Melissa Montalvo who dribbled through the center of the penalty box before putting the ball pass Bay State goalkeeper Stephanie Gordon.

In the 37th minute of play, Montalvo found herself in a breakaway toward goal with Bay State's Kate McCarthy hard on the chase. McCarthy pulled down Montalvo in the box and received a red card for the infraction. Chiara Caen of NYAC stepped up to take the PK, but hit the left post and Stephanie Gordon recovered the rebound.

Bay State was in no mood to sit back and defend, being a player down but also trailing by a goal. Just a few minutes later, Bay State's Jen Leaverton hit a rocket of a shot from about 20 yards out. NYAC goalie Tyler Griffin had to make a full-stretch diving save to tip the ball off the crossbar to preserve what at the time was a 1-0 lead. Leaverton tallied three shots on goal in the match.

In the 42nd minute, NYAC capitalized on the slow field and put in its second tally of the half when Stephanie Barrett found herself in a tussle with Lima deep in Bay State's box. The ball appeared on its way out of play past the goal line after Lima's tackle, but managed to stay inbounds and an alert Barrett freed herself from the tackle. She passed the ball back to Earnshaw, who calmly slotted the ball past goalie Gordon on the short side.

At the half, Lau's instructions to the NYAC team were simple - the two-goal lead was not a comfortable lead.

"We should expect Bay State to come at us hard... there is no reason for them to pack it in to defend a two-goal deficit... We don't need to take excessive risks, but with a player advantage, when they attack hard, we need to look for opportunities to counter numbers up," Lau told the team during half-time. "We don't want to pack it in and defend a two-goal lead either."

In the second half, Bay State Select went on the offensive. The hard work almost paid off midway through the half when Mastrogiacomo forced a desperate tackle in front of the NYAC goal which resulted in a penalty kick. NYAC goalie Tyler Griffin gave nothing away, however, as she dove to her right and calmly made the save - yielding no rebound.

In the 70th minute, NYAC's Kim Mineo found a seam in Bay State's defense with a perfectly placed pass to Barrett who finished the job. On the final goal of the match in the 92nd minute, Barrett again found open space behind Bay State's defense on the counter attack, and Montalvo threaded a nice pass from midfield to Barrett, who calmly put the ball in the back of the net past Gordon.

For her tireless efforts in the middle of the NYAC defense, Courtney Fedge was voted by both teams' coaches as the game's Defensive MVP. Courtney - a rising senior at Fordham University - ran down fast breaks, blocked shots, covered for teammates on both flanks and was instrumental in keeping Lima and the rest of the Bay State offense at bay. Melissa Montalvo, with a goal and an assist & was simply a menace to the opposing defense, was the coach's choice for the Offensive MVP of the game.

"I am obviously delighted with the win," said Lau. "I am proud of the whole team. It's nice that Melissa and Courtney received individual distinctions for their outstanding play... All the same, I am sure they won't be surprised to hear me say that it's a team game. It takes more than two outstanding players to make a team. Everyone who made the trip contributed to the team win."

NYAC's next match will be its home opener against visiting Boston Aztec on Saturday, May 16th at Travers Island in Pelham, NY.  Kick-off is scheduled at 4:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Bay State Select will face the Maine Tide at home on Friday, May 15th at Stonehill College at 5:00 p.m.