(Newburgh, NY) – There was one major difference between the Mount Saint Vincent and Mount Saint Mary Women's Soccer team on Wednesday, a difference that not only decided the winner of a hotly

Alexis Alessi turned in one of the finest performances of her brilliant career, an 11-save shutout as Mount Saint Vincent downed Skyline Conference foe Mount Saint Mary

contested Skyline Conference game, but also the potential playoff hopes of both participants. The difference Wednesday night was that Mount Saint Vincent had Alexis Alessi (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside HS) in goal, and Mount Saint Mary did not. On a night when the home team outshot, outpossessed, and in several ways outplayed the Dolphins, it was Alessi who came through time after time, turning in perhaps the finest performance of her career as the Mount improved to 2-0 this season with a 3-0 win over Mount Saint Mary during a game played at Mount Saint Mary.

Mount Saint Mary went for the kill early, possessing the ball for a majority of the first half, and outshooting the Dolphins, 7-2 during the first 45 minutes of play. However, Alessi was up for the task every time, making five saves during the opening half, and 11 for the game. As Alessi kept Mount Saint Mary off the scoreboard, the Dolphin offense turned the pressure up during the second half, and finally, in the 74th minute, freshman Kelly Curran (Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township HS) broke through the Blue Knight defense and scored her second goal of the season (on only two shots) to give the Dolphins the lead.

Mount Saint Vincent was not finished there. Just over four minutes later, sophomore Jessica McBain (Troy, NY/Troy HS) found the back of the net for her first goal of the season to make it 2-0. As the Mount defense held and Alessi continued to stonewall the Blue Knights, Mount Saint Vincent scored their final goal of the game, a gorgeous tally by junior Marie Garcia (Medford, MA/Medford HS) in the final minute of play for the 3-0 final.

Overall, Mount Saint Mary enjoyed a 17-10 advantage in shots and owned a decisive possession edge, but Alessi was simply brilliant, earning her eighth career shutout.

Mount Saint Vincent returns to action on Monday, Sept. 25 when they host City College of New York (CCNY) for a Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) match-up at 4:00 p.m. The game will be played at Redmond-Cooke Field in Yonkers, New York.