COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The TCNJ women's soccer team scored twice in the first half to take early control of its season opener against Ursinus Tuesday night, adding three more scores in the second to secure a dominant, 5-1 win over the Bears.
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The match kicked off in the waning hours of the night following an over-two-hour weather delay, but it was the Lions (1-0) wasting no time getting the scoring started with the game's first goal coming at the 8:44 mark.
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After an impressive defensive stand initially kept TCNJ off the board, the cleared ball found itself at the feet of
Isabella Charles 45 yards from goal. The sophomore – who scored once a year ago – sent a one-time effort toward the far post that bounced off the Ursinus (0-1) netminder's hands and in to match her tally one game into the season and give the Lions the early lead.
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Each of the TCNJ's next three goals came off the feet of
Maggie Murphy, who picked up right where she left off in 2025 en route to her first collegiate hat trick. The junior sandwiched her first two goals around halftime, scoring in the 21st and 47th minutes before putting the bow on her career day just three minutes later.
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Murphy, who was assisted on her first two goals of the night, received a pass just across midfield and this time beat her defender one-on-one before sending a left-footed shot into the top left corner, registering the program's first hat trick since Victoria D'Imperio in 2024, and pushing TCNJ's advantage to 4-0.
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Alyssa Alfano was the final Lions player to get on the scoresheet, scoring her 20th career goal off a feed from
Lexi Caruso that was initially deflected before finding the senior at the back post to make it a 5-0 game.
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The Bears stole one back in the game's final seconds to spoil the shutout, but the damage was already done in a 5-1 road win to open up TCNJ's 2026 campaign.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions outshot Ursinus 25-5, including a 14-2 edge in shots on goal.
- TCNJ took five corners to the Bears' four.
- Thirty different players saw the field for the Lions.
NOTES
- Murphy's hat trick is the first of her career and the first by a TCNJ women's soccer player since 2024. The junior is one goal away from matching her total from all of last season.
- Caruso became the first player to register three assists in one game since Emma Pascarella achieved the feat in 2023.
- With her goal in the second half, Alfano became the seventh player in program history to total at least 20 goals and 20 assists in their career.
UP NEXT
- The Lions continue their road trip Saturday, Sept. 5 with a game against 23rd-ranked Penn State Harrisburg, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m.
