The Monmouth University women’s soccer team won in dramatic fashion thanks to senior forward Rachelle Ross’ goal with five seconds left in the game to beat Drexel 2-1 Friday night at Hess Field on The Great Lawn.
“I knew the moment and was prepared whether Gibby (sophomore forward Madie Gibson) gave her the ball or not,” said Ross. “It was a flashback to last year against Seton Hall.”
The last time MU had a game winner was last season’s 1-0 win against Seton Hall when the then senior forward Alexis McTamney scored with five seconds left.
In the first half, both teams would exchange scoring chances but the half would end scoreless thanks to excellent goalie play and active defense by freshman forward/midfielder Sarina Jones.
In the second half, Drexel would break through and score the first goal in the 60th minute past sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Knaub.
Drexel’s defense was errorless until sophomore midfielder/forward Lexie Palladino was able to find the back of the net on the assist from sophomore midfield/defender Jessica Johnson to tie the game with 22 minutes left in the game.
After unsuccessful scoring chances by both teams, the game was destined for overtime until senior midfielder Sophie Centi took control of the ball.
With only ten seconds left, Centi sent a far pass to Gibson who dribbled the ball toward the box and dished it out to Ross who found the back of the net with just five seconds remaining on the clock.
“Going down 1-0 and coming back to win was huge for us,” Head Coach Krissy Turner said. “This was a terrific win against a very good team. I am very proud of the daily improvement of this team.”
On Sept. 4th, MU gave the freshman-packed crowd a solid showing on Team Impact Night, shutting down Seton Hall with the 1-0 victory at Hess Field. The win gives Monmouth back-to-back years of beating Seton Hall.
The game began as quite the defensive battle with four combined saves in the first half by the goalies.
The lone goal came eight minutes into the second half, thanks to Johnson’s corner that went into the far side of net over the goalie.
“I did not think it was going in,” Johnson said about her goal. “It feels great to score, I don’t expect to score often, I’m more of a distributive player.”
Knaub finished the game strong with two lead-preserving saves, totaling five saves on the game.
The blue and white closed out their busy week on Sunday on the road at Hofstra.
“They have athletic, dynamic, players and it will be a challenge on short rest.” said Coach Turner in anticipation of the game. “But we will continue to play hard like we have been.”
“We have to continue to play our game,” said Ross earlier in the week. “If we get after the ball and create chances, we will be good to go.” Although they were outshot 27-5, Monmouth certainly did play hard and secured the 0-0 tie with Hofstra thanks to an eight save effort from Knaub, who notched her fourth shutout of the young season.
After the tie, MU extended their unbeaten streak to 4 games (3-0-1)
Monmouth (3-2-2) will go on the road to Niagara to start up Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m.
PHOTO COURTESY of Karlee Sell/Monmouth Athletics
