FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Shea Kelleher and Miriam Shomstein combined for a first half cushion while Kyran Thievon's second-half goal line stand ushered in a night of celebration for the Sacred Heart University women's soccer team as it stunned crosstown rivals Fairfield, 2-1, at Park Ave Field on Wednesday night. With the win, the Pioneers grab their first win in program history over Fairfield and extend their unbeaten run in the month of October to a season-long four games. 
 
Some matches just mean more. On a night when the Pioneers sought to raise awareness towards breast cancer, celebrating the seven-year remission of one of the university's most well-known breast cancer survivors, the Pioneers provided reasons to celebrate on-and-off the pitch on Wednesday night. Before the match, the Pios honored long-time Sacred Heart employee Sandra Stevenson Gordon, sharing her story and her goal of raising awareness of this disease as she participates this weekend in The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on October 20 at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Conn. Links to donate to the foundation can be found here:
 
With the celebration ended and both teams ready to go, it was one-way traffic in the direction of SHU's goalkeeper Thievon for the first couple minutes, as the hosts threatened to open the scoring just moments into the match. However, Thievon shut down the opposition in the early going, frustrating the "ever-so-dangerous" forwards of Fairfield through the first parts of the bout. 
 
With SHU having weathered the storm, it was the doggedness of the big three up front – Morgan Bovardi, Grace O'Hara and Kelleher – who sent the Stag defense in fits along the backline to get back in the possession battle. With Fairfield having been forced to play through the middle channels, O'Hara was able to put herself in the way of a Stag clearance, deflecting the ball back toward to net. With a flash of speed along the near wing, sophomore forward Kelleher snagged the loose ball off the bounce, fought off her defender, and wired a low-stinger past Fairfield's Katie Wright to put SHU ahead, 1-0, 20 minutes into the match. 
 

Sometimes it really is just right place, right time as Kelleher finds the deflection and fires it into the netting to put us up, 1-0!#WeAreSHU pic.twitter.com/1neI5YAlxg

— Sacred Heart Women's Soccer (@SHU_WSOCCER) October 17, 2024

 
 
Having felt they had given up a goal "against the run of play," the Stags bit hard to try and find the equalizer in next few minutes. Though Fairfield carried a majority of the possession, the heroics of Thievon and her backline prevented the Stags from sending a plethora of chances on frame, settling for just four shots in the first half to which Thievon had little trouble dealing with. 
 
Approaching the finale of the first half, the Pios again found a one-off chance with six minutes remaining. Utilizing her speed and one-on-one technical ability, O'Hara flustered the defense of Fairfield, ultimately earning a free kick opportunity on the edge of the penalty area after having been brought down on her way to goal. With a sharp-angle toward the frame, Shomstein lined up for the free-kick and sent a sinister, high-arching ball off the restart that slotted into the far post for her first collegiate goal to give the home side a hard-earned 2-0 advantage that they saw into the halftime break. 
 

Hey Mimi, let it rip.

*proceeds to let it rip*#WeAreSHU pic.twitter.com/Nnw3hodbHd

— Sacred Heart Women's Soccer (@SHU_WSOCCER) October 17, 2024

 
 
With the stakes increasing as the second half began, the Stags did not "reinvent the wheel" and instead sent waves upon waves of pressure toward the SHU goal as they searched for a way back into the match. Having dealt with the multitude of pressure for over 70 minutes, the visitors found a way back into the match from Elle Scott's fifth tally of the season in the 73^rd minute. 
 
Searching for a miracle – as that was what would need to happen to pierce the armor of Thievon – Fairfield's trio of forwards worked to break down the SHU defense. With Maddy Theriault finding a crossing lane to send a straight-line pass to Scott, the forward eventually shook off a defender and slotted a low, blistering shot that snuck past an outstretched Thievon to pull within one and end the SHU keeper's shutout streak as it approached its 360th minute. 
 
With Fairfield sensing blood in the water, the Pios had their work cut out for them in the final 18 minutes as the mantra for the Stags became: load, fire, reload. Having found the formula that got them within one, the Stags continued working through the flanks with Theriault and King finding openings. However, Thievon came up time and time again to stymie the visitors as the clock approached its expiration. 
 
With just one minute remaining, the Pios faced their toughest challenge as the "bend but don't break" formula the backline had enforced for a majority of the second half started to crack. Following a free kick along the halfway line, a bouncing header from Ashlyn Walsh was parried away by Thievon at the goal line and out for a corner. Racing to take it, the Stags sent the ball back into play, but again were forced back by the SHU defense after several whacks of the loose ball. 
 
With 10 seconds remaining, Fairfield went tic-tac-toe through the middle of the SHU attacking third, finding Theriault all alone just outside the penalty area. With a crack of the right foot, Theriault's shot looped toward the bottom left corner, skipped off the turf, and darted just outside the far post as time expired with the Pioneers holding on to their first win over their crosstown rivals in program history, upsetting the Stags via a 2-1 scoreline on Breast Cancer Awareness Night. 
 
Top Performers:

• Shea Kelleher: 1 goal, 1 shot on goal
• Miriam Shomstein: 1 goal, 1 shot on goal
• Kyran Thievon: 13 saves, 1 goal allowed
• Grace O'Hara: 3 shots 

Of Note:

• Kelleher's tally is her team-leading, fifth goal of the season and her first since achieving a career-long, three-game scoring streak in late September. 
• Shomstein's free kick goal is her first collegiate goal and first point as a Pioneer. 
• Thievon's 13-save performance sets a new, single-game high in saves beating her previous record (9) which she had set this season against Rider (10/05). Thievon tied her previous record in the second half alone, tallying nine saves in Wednesday's tilt. 
• Thievon set a new career-long shutout streak in the win after allowing her first goal in 359:13 of game action which was spread across six appearances. 
• Thievon also set a new career-best shutout streak after posting three-consecutive complete-match shutouts. 
• SHU's two goals in Wednesday's match is the most the Pios have scored this season since a 5-3 loss to Navy in the second game of the season. 
• The Pios are now riding a season-best, four-match unbeaten streak and has posted wins in three of the last four matches. 
• With the win, the Pioneers earn their first victory in program history over their cross-town foes, having previously faced an 0-2-2 record against the Stags. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers are back in action this weekend, hitting the road for a date with Canisius on Saturday, October 19. Kickoff from Demske Sports Complex is scheduled for noon. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.