By Christine Houghton
Staff Writer
The women’s soccer team continued its winning-streak against Stockton University and tied against Montclair State University. The team now improves to 10-1-1.
Playing on Oct. 10, the team advanced its winning-streak to eight games in a 3-0 victory over Stockton. Yet again, the College’s defense held strong against its opponent, holding Stockton to only one shot and one shot on goal in total.
Scoring started early for the Lions with freshman midfielder/forward Amelia Curtis, who scored not only the first goal of the game, but the first of her college career in the 37th minute.
When asked about her first collegiate goal, Curtis said, “It was really cool! We really wanted to score and I was just so happy that I could help the team and get the goal.”
Adding to the team’s offensive intensity, freshman midfielder/forward Lauren McLaughlin cashed in on a defensive gap in the 59th minute, extending the lead 2-0.
Soon after, junior midfielder Taylor Nolan punched in the College’s third and final goal during the 72nd minute, acquiring her fifth goal of the season.
The team’s offensive domination marks its 25th point and eighth shutout of the season.
After about a week and a half without any games, the College showed up ready to play against Montclair State University on Saturday, Oct. 20 at home in Lions Stadium.
The game appeared to be an equally competitive match from the very beginning — the Lions kept fans on their toes through both halves of the game.
Despite the tie, the Lions maintained their defensive dominance throughout the game with 23 shots compared to the four Montclair put up, and 11 shots on goal compared to the two by Montclair.
Junior goalkeeper Nicole DiPasquale had two saves for her 20th career shutout, playing a vital role in preventing a loss for the Lions.
The team’s intensity increased late in the second half. The team kept the ball around Montclair’s goal and away from its own. Its defense remained strong throughout the two 10-minute overtimes, but yielded no goals. The game ended in a tie.
“The defense has been outstanding so far this year,” said freshman forward/midfielder Nikki Butler. “We are clearly dominating in shots on goal this year with the huge help from our defenders. Defenders Faith Eichenour, Jen McGrogan and Ally DeRiggi are all very quick and talented and get the job done every game.”
Ranked sixth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division III group, the Lions play their last regular season game on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at home for their senior night.
