TROY, N.Y. - The Bard College women's soccer team used suffocating defense to blank the Gators of Sage College Wednesday night, taking the non-league contest, 2-0. 

Entering the game, Sage (2-1) had outscored its opponents, 20-1 in its first two matches of 2017, but the Raptors' defense was ready for the task. 

After each side played a scoreless opening 45 minutes, it only took Bard three minutes to find the goal in the second half. 

The Raptors (2-0) capitalized off a free kick, which came from their own side of the field, thanks to Dylan McDonald's booming leg. McDonald sent the ball from behind the midfield line to just in front of the box, where the ball bounced high into the box. 

A Sage defender got her head on the ball but was unable to clear it forward, which allowed Mikaela Martiros to get her head on it. As it came down for another big bounce, Giuliana Scanni got her toe on it just as Sage keeper was about to play it, and the deflection allowed the ball to bound slowly into the net to break the scoreless tie. 

While the entire Bard defense contributed to the second goal of the night, it was two seniors who linked up for the insurance strike. In the 69th minute, as the Gators of Sage attempted to pass across the field in their own half,  Carla Sanchez turned on her speed and cut in front of the pass, intercepting it.

Sanchez quickly found Avalon Qian, who made a move to her right to get separation from her defender and then calmly stuck the ball under the closing goalkeeper's left arm for the goal. "That was a real captain to captain goal," Board coach Bill Kelly said. "I told them in the locker room after the game, they earned this win."

From there, Bard sealed the victory by maintaining a clean sheet. Tessa Greenhalgh made four saves. 

Up next for the Raptors, a road contest with Elmira College on September 9th at 2 p.m. The game will be played at Vassar College as part of the Vassar Tournament.