MANSFIELD, Conn. – Junior Sophia Surber provided the only goal of the match just before halftime to help the Union College women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University in a non-conference match at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Wednesday's match was another defensive struggle for Union (6-2-4), which has seen a total of five goals scored in its last five matches combined.
 
The only goal of the match came in the 44th minute off the foot of Surber. After an ECSU goal kick, sophomore Gillian Paseka got in the way of a clearance attempt and the ball bounced to Surber, who maneuvered free from a defender before launching a shot from almost 30 yards out that tucked under the crossbar and over the outstretched arms of keeper Alex Ignatowicz for her first goal of the season.
 
The goal capped off a first half that saw Union have the better of possession and double up Eastern Connecticut (3-7-2) in shots by a 6-3 margin. Ignatowicz made three saves to keep the match scoreless until Surber's tally.
 
The Warriors turned the tide in the second half and outshot the Garnet Chargers by a 7-3 margin, but junior Rachel Berliner made three stops to finish her outing with four saves in 75:33 of play. First-year Brooke Rosenshine came on for the final 14:27 but did not see an on-target shot in preserving the shutout.
 
ECSU finished the evening with a slight 10-9 edge in shots, with Ignatowicz and Kaeden Dublin combining to match Berliner with four saves.
 
Union will start a busy weekend of soccer on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. Liberty League match at Bard College.