ST. MARY'S, Md. – The No. 2 TCNJ women's soccer team roared to a 5-0 victory on the second day of the Seahawk Classic against host St. Mary's (Md.). The Lions held the Seahawks without a shot in the first half and breezed to the victory with two goals in the first half and three more in the second.
The Lions' first goal was put into motion thanks to
Sophie Vieira and
Lindsay O'Keefe forcing a turnover in St. Mary's end. The Seahawks had a throw-in on the right sideline in their own end, and Vieira and O'Keefe pressured the play. It forced an errant clearing attempt to go out of bounds, giving the Lions possession in the offensive end.
Emma Pascarella accepted the Lions' throw-in, and after fighting off one defender, she made a move towards the middle of the field. She let a shot from the top left corner of the 18-yard box go, and it sailed above the outstretched right hand of leaping St. Mary's goalie Kylie Wells. That made it 1-0 TCNJ in the 23
rd minute.
TCNJ added to its lead just four minutes later. Vieira tried to sneak an entry pass into O'Keefe after a turnover forced by
Gianna Coppola. The pass led O'Keefe just a bit too far, but Wells' misplayed her attempt to corral the ball. It slid under her and out of bounds to give TCNJ a corner kick.
Allie O'Keefe entered to take the corner from the right side, and it curled to the back post where a leaping
Victoria D'Imperio headed it home for a 2-0 TCNJ lead.
The Lions had another strong chance with two minutes left in the first half.
Ivonne Vasquez centered a ball into the box from the right side that found
Sofia Alves, but her shot missed high over the crossbar.
That punctuated a dominant half for the Lions, outshooting the Seahawks, 19-0, in the first.
The dominance continued early into the second half as TCNJ added three more goals.
Rachel Robichaud gave the Lions a 3-0 lead on a shot to the high left in the 52
nd minute. Pascarella netted her second goal of the game and third goal of the season in the 64
th minute to make it 4-0.
TCNJ closed out the scoring when
Camryn Wolf set up
Gianna Minerva in the 75
th minute to make it 5-0.
The Lions outshot St. Mary's, 39-5, in the game and held a 17-2 advantage in shots on goal. Pascarella's six led the team while Coppola finished with five.
Cassidy DiSabato had four shots off the bench.
TCNJ returns to action on Friday against NYU on the first day of the Engineering Cup, held at Stevens. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
