ALFRED, NY—Bailey Shattell (Syracuse, NY, Faith Heritage) scored two goals and assisted on another as the Houghton women shut out Alfred State in soccer action Wednesday night, 3-0.
 
The win lifts the Highlanders to 8-5-2 on the year while the Pioneers fall to 7-7-1. 
 
Jessica McDowell (Macedon, NY, Gananda) helped get Houghton on the board early when she found Shattell with a pass.  A good touch and some speed gave Shattell the breakaway, which she finished with a slide past the keeper.
 
The Pioneers defense locked down, keeping the score 1-0 for the remainder of the half.
 
In the 60^th minute Shattell struck again.  Jennifer Zacchigna (East Aurora, NY, East Aurora) crossed a ball into the box from the left flank and Shattell got just enough of her foot on the ball to beat the keeper with a redirection. 
 
Houghton finished the scoring with just over six minutes remaining when Shattell and Zacchigna teamed up again, this time on free kick just outside the box.  After a pair of quick passes, Abigail Schmidt (Holland, NY, Holland Central) received the ball in front of an open net and finished her second goal of the season.
 
Goalkeeper Shawna Sprout (Portville, NY, Portville Central) needed just four saves in 87 minutes of work, as she and the Highlander defense racked up their fourth consecutive shutout and eighth of the season.
 
With playoff implications on the line, Houghton heads into the first of two remaining Empire 8 conference games this Saturday when they take on Alfred University at 2:30 p.m. on Burke Field.