THE RUNDOWN
On a humid Saturday night at Patriot Soccer Field, the No. 9 DBU Women's Soccer team took down the Bridgeport Purple Knights, 4-0. The Patriots (4-1) completed their non-conference schedule with a strong offensive outburst as four different Patriots would find the back of the net. 

It took just 28 minutes for DBU to crack the puzzle of Bridgeport's defense. Michelle Gonzalez (Marta) began the scoring off an assist from Abigail Olmos. The offense would then shatter its multi-score dry spell as Olmos delivered the 2-0 goal off a feed from Melissa Jones. 

Bridgeport (3-3) forward Kate Thill challenged Adrianna Schroeder throughout the first half. Schroeder was fantastic in her return to the net, swatting away all four of Thill's shots on frame as the Patriots continued to pull away. 

After halftime, Ashley Merrill headed in her second goal of the season off a corner kick from Gabrielle Heller. The final score of the evening belonged to Madison Smalley in the 85th minute. Smalley took advantage of an empty Bridgeport net following an errant back pass to earn the first goal of her Patriot career.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-With her 19th career goal, Ashley Merrill slides into a three-way tie with Kaci Parks, Emilie MacDonald, and Hope Adams for eighth place on the all-time scoring list.
-DBU now owns a 1-0 all-time series lead over Bridgeport.
-The Purple Knights allowed four goals in a single game for the first time since October of 2019.

COACH MICHELLE LENARD ON THE WIN
"They [Bridgeport] had an unconventional style of play that caused some problems for us... But we had two goals in the first half, and that's what matters, to give ourselves a lead going into the half. Then we were able to talk about adjustments and the girls adapted very well in the second half. Some great goals from four different players and a very positive result."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 -DBU's defense buckled down in the second half, holding Bridgeport to just two shots. 
21 - 21 different Patriots saw minutes on the pitch vs. the Purple Knights
16 - DBU fired off a season-high 16 shots.

UP NEXT
The Patriots will begin conference play at home against Texas A&M-Commerce. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 22.