Box Score

Ewing, NJ… Junior Jordan Downs (Brick, NJ/Brick) assisted on a pair of restarts in the first half as The College of New Jersey opened its New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule with a 5-0 victory over Ramapo College.

The win kept the fourth-ranked Lions perfect this season at 7-0, while the Roadrunners fell to 2-6. TCNJ benefitted from a well-balanced attack as five different players rippled the back of the net on a sunny Saturday afternoon in TCNJ's Soccer Complex.

Junior Leigh Applestein (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley), senior Sloan DePiero (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey) , senior Katie Lindacher (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ/Egg Harbor Twp), freshman Christine Levering (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) and junior Gina Caprara (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) all scored for the Lions. Downs and freshman Sally Sturm (Great Meadows, NJ/Hackettstown) registered assists.

Senior keeper Kendra Griffith (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West), junior Cristina Gacos (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall), and sophomore Jessica Weeder (Lebanon, NJ/North Hunterdon) combined to register the fourth shutout of the season for the Lions. Roadrunner goalkeeper Taylor Auslin (Fairlwan, NJ/Fair Lawn) recorded five saves in the contest.

A pair of goals off direct kicks from Downs gave the Lions a two-goal cushion in the opening half. Just over nine minutes into the game, Downs lofted a restart from 35 yards out into the box. Applestein crashed the box and reached out to get a foot on the ball, redirecting past the Ramapo keeper for the game-clincher. It was the team-leading fourth goal of the season for Applestein.

At the midpoint of the opening period, Downs took another restart and ripped it off the crossbar. DePiero dashed in aggressively and headed the rebound between the posts for her third tally of the season.

At the 57:55 mark in the match, Lindacher used her speed to push the host lead to 3-0. She dribbled down the left sideline, cut in and split the defense, and slipped a low shot past Austin to the near post. It was the third goal of the season for Lindacher.

Levering was rewarded for her hustle, knocking in the fourth goal of the game. She aggressively charged the goalkeeper and deflected a clear attempt that rocketed into the back of the net for her third goal this year. Caprara capped the scoring when she pushed in a ground pass from Sturm, who had just entered the game. It was the first collegiate goal for Caprara.

The Lions continue conference play on Wednesday, September 25, hosting Richard Stockton College at 7:30 p.m., while Ramapo hosts New Jersey City University at 4 p.m.