POTSDAM, N.Y. – Junior forward Emily Woolingham, the reigning Empire 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, scored twice to lead the St. John Fisher University women's soccer team (1-0) to a 4-2 season-opening victory over Clarkson (0-1) on Tuesday afternoon.
Including Woolingham (4), Fisher had six players tally a point in the contest. The Cardinals mostly controlled the attacking play throughout, ending the contest with a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal and a 17-9 edge in total shots.
Sophomore Isabella Ayers played all 90 minutes in net for the Cardinals and made a pair of saves.
How It Happened
The Cardinals scored twice in less than 10 minutes later in the first half and went into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Woolingham opened the scoring with a penalty kick tally at 30:04, and exactly eight minutes later – at 38:04 – a pair of freshmen connected as midfielder Maebh Whyte found the back of the net off a feed from forward Molly Simmons.
Clarkson quickly leveled the scoreboard early in the second half, scoring twice in the first four minutes and change. Jamie Dahlgard made it 2-1 at 46:35, and Ella Intrieri tied the game at 49:05.
The score remained tied until the 72:27 mark when the Cardinals freshman midfielder Olivia Feehan scored her first collegiate goal on an assist from junior forward Olivia Kalil. Woolingham buried her second goal of the contest off an assist from senior midfielder Carli Maltbie to pad the Cardinals' lead with about five minutes remaining.
Game Notes
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Woolingham recorded her third collegiate three-goal game.
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Feehan and Whyte became the first freshmen to score in a season opener for the Cardinals since Kyra Kenyon (3 goals) and Emma Spelman (1 goal) did so in a 9-0 victory over Buffalo State on Sept. 1, 2021.
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The victory marked Fisher's first in a season opener since 2023.
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The Cardinals improved to 7-2-4 all-time against Clarkson.
Up Next
The Cardinals face Neumann University at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Growney Stadium.
