EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ women's soccer team left it all on the field in their regular-season finale against 11th-ranked Rowan Wednesday night, taking a 2-0 lead into halftime before a second-half brace for the visitors forced the Lions to settle for a hard-fought, 2-2 draw in front of the faithful home crowd.
TCNJ (9-4-5, 6-1-2 NJAC) came into Wednesday's contest with a clear game plan and executed it to perfection, scoring the game's opening goal with just under six minutes elapsed.
Raquel Garces was first to a Profs (13-1-2, 7-0-2 NJAC) clearance attempt and immediately sent the ball back toward the top of the box where it found
Ari Keily. The senior controlled the pass that was then taken over by
Alyssa Alfano, who took a touch into the box before firing an unstoppable shot into the top left corner to give the Lions the early 1-0 advantage over Rowan – its first time trailing since the Profs were down 1-0 to top-ranked Messiah earlier this month.
TCNJ stayed the aggressor despite now playing with the lead, doubling its lead in the 38th minute this time off the head of
Lexi Caruso.
Maggie Murphy was first to a loose ball just outside Rowan's box, feeding it out to
Emily Weidner. The sophomore wasted no time inserting the ball toward the penalty spot where
Jenny Ward headed it on to Caruso, who beat out the Profs' Leah Edinger for her second score of the season to give the Lions a 2-0 lead – Rowan's largest deficit all season – at the halftime break.
TCNJ continued its strong play to start the second half with shots coming from
Taylor Bielan and Alfano, but it was Rowan cutting the lead in half in the 64th minute off a screamer from Olivia Giordano that found its way past
Ellen Williams and into the top corner.
An equalizer in the 82nd minute from Julianna Giordano leveled things at two, with a final chance from Ward at the 84:30 mark being corralled by Edinger before the final whistle blew to seal the result.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Both teams registered four shots on goal, with the Lions holding a slight, 16-14 edge in shots.
- TCNJ also held an 8-7 advantage in corners.
- Alfano finished with a game-high six shots.
NOTES
- Alfano's goal was her team-best 10th of the season and extends her scoring streak to six games.
- Keily's assist pushes her season total to five, ranking second on the team behind only Alfano.
- Garces' secondary assist on Alfano's score was her first of the season and second of her career.
- Williams made two saves in the tie, making her just the ninth player in program history to eclipse 60 saves in a single season.
- The tie earned the Lions the three seed in the upcoming NJAC Tournament.
UP NEXT
- TCNJ will host Stockton – the only team to beat the Lions in conference play this season – in the NJAC Quarterfinals Saturday, Nov. 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
