EWING, N.J. – TCNJ women's soccer senior Jessica O'Brien took a pass on the right side in the 32nd minute of the team's non-conference home match with Elizabethtown on Wednesday night, and a few seconds later, it became a highly unlikely first goal in the No. 15 Lions' 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
To that point in the scoreless game, the teams were playing a fairly even match. TCNJ had a couple of chances early, primarily two in the first 10 minutes from Lindsay O'Keefe and Emma Pascarella, the team's two leading scorers. But both plays ended with saved from Elizabethtown keeper Trinity Soto.
O'Brien's play started innocently enough after accepting a pass on the right side, just outside the 18-yard box. After making a few moves on her defender, O'Brien floated a ball towards the goal that banked off the top of the left post and into the goal. She even appeared to surprise herself with the result of the play.
No matter the intent, it put the Lions in the unsurprising position of being ahead. The Lions haven't trailed in a game in nearly a month.
Victoria D'Imperio gave the Lions a 2-0 lead in the 55th minute when she took a sweet feed from O'Keefe at the top of the six-yard box and beat a sliding Soto.
Soon after the D'Imperio tally, it appeared that Elizabethtown had the answer. A lead pass to Marissa Vandernick appeared to result in a one-touch shot and score to make it 2-1, but she was ruled to be offside.
That marked the end of the Elizabethtown push, and the floodgates opened for the Lions, scoring three times in a span of 3:32.
Gianna Coppola followed her two-goal performance on Saturday with another tally in the 62nd minute off a cross from Pascarella to make it 3-0. Less than 90 seconds later, D'Imperio scored her second of the night off of a rebound to make it 4-0.
Two minutes after that goal, Pascarella scored her 10th of the season off an assist from Ivonne Vasquez.
Later in the half, Camryn Wolf scored on a nice one-touch pass from Sofia Alves to make it 6-0, and Elizabethtown added a late marker to avoid the shutout.
The Lions entered Wednesday's game ranked second in the nation in goals per game, averaging 4.8. The Lions beat that average against a team that allowed just 0.78 goals per game, second-fewest in the Landmark Conference.
Through four home games, the Lions have outscored their opponents, 26-2.
TCNJ returns to NJAC action with road games at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday night and at Stockton next Wednesday.
