Hall of Fame
The 2000 season was one to remember for the TCNJ women’s soccer team. TCNJ went 23-1 and finished the season on a 15-game winning streak on the way to the NCAA title. The 23 wins remain the highest single-season mark in the prestigious history of the Lions. TCNJ locked up its sixth NJAC Championship in seven years by way of a 1-0 win over William Paterson.
Head coach Joe Russo quickly elevated the program to a championship-caliber team. The 2000 NCAA Championship marked the third for the Lions in eight seasons. Trenton State went back-to-back in 1993 and 1994, very soon after the program’s founding in 1990.
The 2000 team reached the Final Four for the third-straight year. In 1998, TCNJ lost a 1-0 heartbreaker in quadruple-overtime in the NCAA Championship game. In 1999, the Lions fell, 1-0, in the national semifinal to eventual national champion UC San Diego.
The heartbreak of previous years reversed in the most dramatic way possible. Locked in a 1-1 tie with Tufts in the 2000 title game, Cara Gabage scored the go-ahead goal with just three seconds remaining in regulation.
Denise Buckley, who started the play that led to the clinching goal, was named Offensive MVP of the NCAA Tournament.
