Women’s Soccer extended their nine-game winning streak, closing out the regular season with a dominating 7-0 Senior Night victory over Iona last Wednesday night at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn.
It was the senior forwards Alli DeLuca and Jazlyn Moya who ran the show on Senior Night, combining for five goals in their final regular season game as Monmouth Hawks.
It was a later start than usual for the Hawks offensively as it took the Blue and White until the 31st minute to get on the scoreboard via a long dribble and run from DeLuca who found the right side of the net.
Less than a minute into the second half, DeLuca continued her huge night with another goal from the top of the box, this time assisted by junior midfielder Lexie Palladino.
This was the first of a four-goal stretch for the Hawks in the first 15 minutes of the second half to break open the floodgates to a 5-0 lead.
Junior forward Dana Scheriff finished off a cross to make it 3-0 before Moya polished off back to back goals which were her first two of the season.
In the 63rd minute, DeLuca made it a career night finding the back of the net on a one timer from junior forward Madie Gibson to complete the first hat trick of her collegiate career.
DeLuca was named MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for her performance against Iona.
“Tonight showed the hard work and dedication I’ve put in over the last four years,” said DeLuca. “Every day we are out here working hard as a team and the results showed it.”
Freshman forward A’Liah Moore closed out the game’s scoring in the 88th minute for her fourth goal of the season, all of which have come in MAAC play.
The defense was lockdown yet again for the Blue and White who completed their 11th shutout of the season while junior goalkeeper Amanda Knaub did not even have to make a save in the win.
The shutout total in 2018 is now the most for MU since they had 16 in 2013.
“Anytime you can get a shutout and score some goals it’s meaningful,” said Head Coach Krissy Turner. “Going into conference play we should feel very confident about our last performance.”
The MAAC Tournament will come next for the 14-3-1 Hawks who will automatically advance to the semifinal where they will host the match as the number one seed in the tournament.
“We want to advance to the finals as our first goal, win the finals, and then win the first round of the NCAA tournament,” said Turner.
The Hawks will square off with No. 4 Niagara in the conference semifinal. The Purple Eagles will be facing a scorching hot Monmouth team that has won its last nine games which is their longest streak since 1996 (10).
The Hawks have outscored their opponents 31-2 during this stretch, accumulating nine conference wins for the fifth consecutive year.
“We just want to get the small things done to get the big results,” said DeLuca, who will begin her quest for a third straight conference tournament championship on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 5:00 p.m. at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn. The match will be televised on ESPN3.
PHOTO COURTESY of Ali Nugent
