BOSTON, Mass. - Jess Kefalas and Jessica Harper tallied two goals for Gordon to pace the Fighting Scots to a 2-0 non-conference shutout victory over the Emerson College women's soccer team in Saturday's home opener at Rotch Field.

Emerson drops to 1-1, while Gordon improves to 1-1. 

Emerson took the game's first scoring opportunity five minutes into the half on a shot by freshman Chiara Bernardi (Santa Barbara, Calif.), but the ball landed in the arms of Gordon goalie Kali Denty. Several minutes later on a pass from midfield, Jill Kefalas raced up the field and crossed the ball into the lower right hand corner of the net past Emerson senior goalie Melanie Escobar (Torrington, Conn.). In the early minutes of the first half, Gordon took the 1-0 lead (38:31).

Gordon slowed down the Emerson offense and held the Lions to just five shots. With 16 minutes remaining in the half, the Fighting Scots struck again. After Emerson cleared the ball from in front of the net, Gordon regained possession and sent the ball up to Harper through sea of Lions defenders. Harper set herself up in front of the net and buried the ball into the lower right hand corner past Escobar's diving reach to give the Fighting Scots a 2-0 cushion.

Sophomore Jessica Frost (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) nearly put Emerson on the board with a little over three minutes remaining in the first, but the her shot soared over the net. The score remained in Gordon's favor as the game entered halftime.

A prime opportunity for Gordon to push the lead to three came when Kara Dry had an open shot in front of the net, but she sent the ball high. After nearly going down 3-0, Emerson began to find the rhythm they were missing in the first half and were finding ways to score. The Lions earned another scoring chance at the 32:06 when Bernardi carried the ball up the right side and sent it into the right hand corner, but Denty was there to recover the shot and the score stayed 2-0.

Emerson gained two more opportunities to put themselves on the board, but both were denied by stellar saves from Denty. Sophomore Elizabeth Noble's (Long Beach, Calif.) free kick veered to the left post and was quickly stopped by the dive of Denty. Two minutes later, Denty halted sophomore Paige Haley's (San Diego, Calif.) shot and held the score.

The Lions continued to take shot after shot in the final minutes of the second half, but none could find the back of the net as the Fighting Scots sealed the 2-0 victory.

Emerson takes the field on Wednesday, Sept. 7 as they travel to Tufts at 4:30 p.m.