IMMACULATA, Pa. – The Neumann University Women's Flag Football team took the short ride to Immaculata University on Friday night to battle in an Atlantic East Conference tri-match. They won the opener against Chestnut Hill College, 24-0, before falling to the hosts by a final score of 27-6.
Neumann got on the board against Chestnut Hill with a quick three play drive to start the game as
Ava Valente completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to
Tasia Gaskins. Although the one-point conversion failed, the Knights had a 6-0 lead. They doubled their lead in the second with another Valente touchdown pass, this time to
Shannon Duffy with 3:34 left in the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Neumann got the ball back after the Griffins went four and out on the 12 yard line. On the next play, Valente fired to
Chloe Ballew for the 18-0 lead with 7:15 left. Again, the Knights pounced on a turnover as
Archelle Weston intercepted a pass and again Valente found pay dirt with a 20-yard strike to
Kayla Maisch to close out the scoring.
Ava Valente gained 150 yards in the air and rushed for 85, including one long run of 44 yards. Duffy caught five passes for 55 yards.
Ariel Noble led with 11 tackles.
In the nightcap against the Mighty Macs, the home team got the scoring started with 8:20 left in the first on a 67-yard touchdown pass and a successful single point conversion for a 7-0 lead. With 5:36 left in the second, a 20 yard run would make it a 13-0 game. The Knights would find an answered with 1:07 left in the half as Gaskins received a Valente pass, squeezed through multiple defenders, and went 47 yards for the score to get within seven at the break.
The Mighty Macs would come right back and score on consecutive drives in the third. With nine minutes left, it was a 20 yard pass, and then, after the Knights turned the ball over on downs, Immaculata would score on a 16 yard run for the final action of the game as the final quarter went scoreless.
Valente passed for 127 yards and rushed for 14. Her most popular passing connection was to Duffy as they connected three times.
Ya'Nayshia Thomas led defensively with 8.5 tackles and Noble had seven.
Neumann (4-2) will be back in action for their second home tri-match of the season on Wednesday evening as they entertain Centenary University and Marymount University. The action starts at 4:00 PM.
