GALLOWAY, N.J. – The No. 12 TCNJ women's soccer team jumped out to a 4-0 lead just after halftime and held on to defeat Stockton, 4-3, on Wednesday night in NJAC action. With the win, the Lions won their 10th straight game while improving to 5-0 in conference play. Ivonne Vasquez scored twice in two minutes to fuel the TCNJ attack.
That TCNJ attack netted four goals in a 22-minute span from the midpoint of the first half until the first five minutes of the second half, blitzing the Ospreys with the same pressure that felled so many TCNJ opponents so far in 2022.
The Lions scored on three of their 12 first-half shots, but the first marker didn't come until Lindsay O'Keefe buried a shot off a loose ball that came from a pass by Sophie Vieira in the 28th minute. That goal tied O'Keefe with Emma Pascarella for the team lead with 11 goals so far this season.
Vasquez expanded the TCNJ lead from 1-0 to 3-0 with two scores just before the halftime intermission, and both came off of corner kicks. O'Keefe earned an assist on the first of the two as Vasquez headed it in to make it 2-0 in the 43rd minute. Then, just seconds before the horn, she scored her fifth of the season off of another corner kick from Gianna Minerva.
The Lions were rolling into the intermission, and Victoria D'Imperio added to that lead with her 10th goal of the season in the 50th minute. That made her the third TCNJ player to reach double-digit goals in just 13 team games this season.
Trailing 4-0, Stockton mounted a comeback by scoring within a minute of D'Imperio's goal to make it 4-1. After that, though, the Ospreys were held off the board until scoring twice late. Sydney Williams made it 4-2 in the 77th minute on a free kick, and Riley Finnegan made it 4-3 in the 85th minute when she deposited a rebound off of a penalty kick.
Despite the comeback, the Lions' strong offensive output allowed them to escape with a crucial conference victory. The Lions welcome No. 13 Montclair State to Lions Stadium on Saturday at 5 p.m. The team will celebrate Senior Day with a ceremony prior to the match.
