EWING, N.J. – Victoria D'Imperio etched her name into program lore with a stunning first-half sequence, scoring three goals in a span of just over six minutes to lead the No. 10 TCNJ women's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night.
D'Imperio's second of three goals put her over 100 points for her career, making her the seventh player in program history to reach that milestone.
D'Imperio's third career hat-trick came in a remarkable sequence late in the first half that turned a scoreless stalemate into a TCNJ rout. The goals, each separated by about three minutes, propelled the Lions (11-0-2, 5-0) on their way to convincingly preserving their undefeated season.
Cassidy DiSabato had the first real chance of the game in the 12
th minute, latching onto a deflected ball in the box and sending a low shot toward the right post that was thwarted by a diving Michaela Graham.
DiSabato nearly got the Lions on the board at the 25-minute mark of the first half, sending a perfect pass across the face of goal for
Alyssa Alfano, but the latter was unable to get a boot on it and the threat passed.
Despite not recording a shot until the 43
rd minute, the Scarlet Raptors (6-7-2, 1-4) had multiple dangerous chances in the first half. One of them was snuffed out by
Ava Curtis, who reacted quickly to dispossess a Camden forward in the box. Another came at the half-hour mark, when goalie
Ellen Williams came rushing off her line and slid to take the ball off a Camden player's foot in a do-or-die play with no one behind her.
TCNJ broke through with 7:01 to play in the half, when Curtis sent a long pass into the box. A Camden defender knocked it high into the air and another came in to head it backward and right onto the foot of a waiting D'Imperio, who volleyed it through the legs of Graham and into the back of the net.
D'Imperio completed the hat-trick with 51.9 ticks left in the half, latching onto another ball sent backward by a Camden defender and stabbing a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
The Lions piled on in the 64
th minute, when the Camden keeper deflected
Emily Weidner's shot onto the bar and
Jenny Ward was right there to deposit the rebound.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ owned a 26-2 surplus in shots and registered 16 in the second half alone
- The Lions notched 11 corner kicks while conceding just one
- D'Imperio, DiSabato, and Ward each took four shots
NOTES
- D'Imperio's three goals moved her into a tie for fourth in program history with 46 and counting
- D'Imperio now has 103 career points, just three away from the top-5 at TCNJ
- Curtis secured her third assist of the season and 14th of her career
- Ward's goal was her fourth of the season
- Weidner tallied her second assist of the year
- Ellen Williams was not forced to make a save and picked up her fifth solo shutout
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to Rutgers-Newark on Saturday night
