EWING, N.J. - Playing in front of a slew of alumni, the TCNJ women's soccer team looked reminiscent of its national championship teams of years past in the Lions' wire-to-wire, 7-0 win over Ramapo to kick off Homecoming Weekend in dominant fashion.
TCNJ (5-4-4, 2-1-1 NJAC) wasted no time taking the lead in Saturday's game, scoring the match's opening goal just 42 seconds in when
Taylor Bielan sent in a curling cross that
Alyssa Alfano chested into the open net to give the Lions an almost-immediate 1-0 advantage.
The blue and gold kept the pressure on in an attempt to put the game away early, firing off 11 shots – six of which were on frame – in the ensuing 28 minutes before
Lexi Caruso struck for her first collegiate goal at the 29:36 mark.
Caroline Mascone sent a long ball from midfield that set the sophomore up with just the goalie to beat. Caruso had her initial attempt denied by the Roadrunners' (5-5-2, 1-3 NJAC) Gabby Matias, but quickly followed her shot and sent it into the back of the net to double TCNJ's lead.
Ten minutes later it was another first for the Lions, as
Isabella Charles redirected her header off a
Caroline Freer corner into the far corner for her debut goal, sending TCNJ into the break up 3-0.
The Lions took a bit longer to find their first tally of the second half, going scoreless in the opening five minutes before scoring two goals in under two minutes to stake a 5-0 lead.
Maggie Murphy was first to strike at the 50:29 mark, with the sophomore capitalizing on a nice combination between Freer and
Ari Keily for her season-opening goal before Alfano struck again just over a minute later. Securing the third multi-goal game of her career and first in 2025, the junior was on the receiving end of another Keily feed to give the Lions a five-goal lead.
In what was already the team's highest-scoring game of the season, tallies from
Jenny Ward and
Samantha Rizzi in the final 20 minutes pushed the advantage to seven before the final whistle blew, clinching the 7-0 win for TCNJ.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions held a 24-6 advantage in shots, including a 14-3 advantage in shots on goal.
- A season-high ten different TCNJ players registered a point in the win, paced by Alfano's four coming via two goals.
- Murphy and Alfano shared the team-lead in shots on goal with three apiece.
NOTES
- Ellen Williams made a trio of saves in the shutout victory, the second of which was the 100th of her career. The shutout was the sophomore's 15th in two seasons at TCNJ.
- Alfano now paces the Lions in both goals (5), assists (4) and points (14).
- The goals by Caruso and Charles were the first of their collegiate careers.
- Freer's two assists were the first of her career as was Sam Soznicki's first coming on Ward's score.
UP NEXT
- TCNJ is on the road to take on Rutgers-Camden Wednesday, Oct. 15, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
