Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (12/1/2021) – Under the guidance of first-year Head Coach Mike Nelms, Gwynedd Mercy University finished the season with a 4-11 overall mark, a 0-6 league standing, and as the #7 seed for the 2021 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Women's Soccer Championship Tournament. There, they faced #2 Cabrini University on the Opening Round (Nov. 1). Despite a 24-1 deficit in shots and an 8-0 disadvantage in corner kick opportunities, the Griffins kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard until the latter half of a 2-0 final. Sophomore forward
Avamarie Backich (Southampton, Pa.) recorded Gwynedd Mercy University's only shot, while freshman goalkeeper
Molly Flemming (Warminster, Pa.) recorded eight saves in the loss.
Senior midfielder
Nicolette Conway (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the Gwynedd Mercy University offense with 10 points (5 goals), while Flemming anchored the defense with an impressive rookie campaign that included five games of double-digit saves. She finished the season with a league-high 139 saves, placing her third on the Griffins' single-season save list. Conway also finished 10
th in the conference for goals scored with five.
Midway through September, the Griffins enjoyed a 4-1 stretch that included wins at the University of Valley Forge (W, 7-0 on Sept. 16), Bryn Athyn College (W, 2-1 on Sept. 18), Cairn University (W, 3-2 on Sept. 22), and Rosemont College (W, 1-0 on Oct. 2). Conway recorded the first three Griffin goals (2:36, 17:04, 25:08) versus the Patriots with additional tallies coming from senior midfielder
Carissa Manero (Sellersville, Pa.) (30:08), senior defender
Laura Pelczar (Philadelphia, Pa.) (34:27), freshman forward
Keyra Heinlein (Lansdale, Pa.) (46:38), and freshman midfielder
Julia Wiskoski (Ambler, Pa.) (71:09).
Two days later, Backich provided the game-winner in the 101
st minute (100:43) of the Griffins' 2-1 double-overtime win at Bryn Athyn College. The scoring did not start until the second half as Conway completed a pass from Manero at 51:03 (1-0) and the Lions answered at 65:05 (1-1). The contest remained tied at the end of regulation and stayed knotted until Backich unleashed the deciding shot. At week's end, Conway and Flemming were respectively recognized as the AEC Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.
The following week, sophomore defender
Julie Smuszkiewicz (Warminster, Pa.) and senior defender
Brianna McDonald (Yardley, Pa.) respectively scored the game-winning tallies versus Highlanders (81:39) and the Ravens (17:00).
The Griffins finished the season with eight different goal scorers including two sophomore and a pair of freshmen. Behind Conway, Heinlein (2 goals, 1 assist) and Backich (2 goals, 1 assist) offered five points apiece while the team's shot leader (25), Manero totaled four points (1 goal, 2 assists) in her senior season. Pelczar totaled three points in her swan song with a goal and an assist. Additional tallies were logged by Smuszkiewicz, McDonald, and Wiskoski, while senior defender
Haleigh Kaufmann (Yardley, Pa.) provided the Griffins' with an assist. In their 15 games, Gwynedd Mercy University totaled 14 goals and six assists (34 points).
Flemming started all 15 contests in goal, only taking leave for Kaufmann twice for a total of 49:32 minutes. Kaufmann made a pair of saves in that time, posting a 5.45 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .400 save percentage. Flemming recorded her 139 saves on a 3.17 GAA and a .720 save percentage. Her 4-11 record was highlighted by double-digit save performances at Delaware Valley University (15 on Sept. 9), at Eastern University (22 on Sept. 28), at Marywood University (13 on Oct. 16), versus Immaculata University (16 on Oct. 23), and versus Centenary University (10 on Oct. 27); Flemming's 22 saves in the Gwynedd Mercy University's 9-1 loss at Eastern University now stands as the Griffins' all-time single-game mark. She also set the all-time mark for saves per game (9.27).
