The women’s soccer team made a statement on Hesse Field this past Wednesday, Oct. 1 as they conquered the Saint Peter’s University Peacocks in a dominant 8-0 victory. This puts MU’s record at 2-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and 7-4 overall. Coming off of a tough conference loss at Canisius on Saturday, the Hawks needed to prove their presence in the MAAC. Fortunately for MU, they did just that, posting their sixth shutout this season amongst five different goal scorers.
“We were coming off a disappointing performance on Saturday in which we didn’t deserve to win. The other team wanted it more and that was very disheartening to us,” said head coach Krissy Turner.
The Hawks came to play from the first whistle. Just 2:28 into the first half, freshman forward Rachelle Ross crossed the ball into the box to find sophomore forward Alexis McTamney ready off of the goalie’s deflection. Just moments later, the Hawks struck again. Another underclassmen duo, freshman midfielder Sophia Centi and sophomore forward Julie Spracklin paired up to put another on the board. It was at 19:15 into the game when the Hawks became a triple threat. Senior defender Kristen Brett passed the ball wide to sophomore forward Erica Murphy who touched it into the box and crushed the net. The Hawks had a solid lead of 3-0 less than 19:30 into the first half.
As the clock read 19:58, junior defender Cara Poole found Spracklin for her second of the night and fourth of her career. In the 24th minute Ross took the ball to goal herself earning her sixth career goal. By the 25th minute mark, the Hawks had solidified their lead to 5-0.
With five minutes left in the first half, MU proved they were not yet finished on their offensive attack. Sophomore forward Madi Grieve stood tall in the box awaiting a cross from senior midfielder Breynn Collazo. Grieve headed Collazo’s cross to earn her first collegiate goal and the sixth goal of the night.
MU goalkeeper Nicole D’Agostino and the Hawks’ defense saw little offensive action from Saint Peter’s as D’Agostino made just one save. In the second half, sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Lavan replaced D’Agostino and made her first collegiate appearance.
With the responsibility to maintain the shutout on the team’s shoulders, Coach Turner motivated the Hawks to keep their heads in the game, regardless of the score. “I think the approach to the second half was that we needed to keep playing. We needed to get better and I think they responded well. We played a lot of players. Everyone had the opportunity to contribute,” she said.
The Hawks remained resilient and relentless in the second half, coming out the gate hungry. An individual effort from Murphy began the second half in just the 61st minute. In the 79th minute, junior midfielder Brianne Boyle sailed a shot just high of cage and off of the crossbar, shaking up the SPU defense. MU would hold a 7-0 lead over the Peacocks until the 82nd minute of play. The Collazo-Grieve duo performed again to finalize the shutout at 8-0.
In shots alone, the Hawks outweighed the Peacocks 33-3. MU attacked the net 15 times in the second half alone, while the Peacocks could not find the net once. Saint Peter’s goalkeeper Lauren Solene stopped the MU offense seven times while her reserve Molly O’Halloran made no saves.
A total of nine reserves saw the field on Wednesday night, many of them earning first time appearances. The victory over the Peacocks goes in the books for most wins over a single program with 20, but the game also marked MU’s strongest margin of victory over the Peacocks since 2005.
The Hawks take on MAAC contender Manhattan College next in Riverdale, NY this Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7:00 pm. MU hopes to maintain its winning streak in the MAAC and repeat its 6-0 defeat of the Jaspers last year.
The Hawks will return home to Hesse Field at The Great Lawn on Saturday, Oct. 18 for senior night against another MAAC foe, Quinnipiac University.
