Women’s Soccer extended their winning streak to five straight games with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victories last Wednesday at Canisius and on Saturday afternoon against Quinnipiac at Hesse Field on the Great Lawn.
The Blue and White’s matchup at Canisius last week ended 2-0 in favor of the visitors.
Senior forward Alli DeLuca scored her fifth goal of the year in the second minute off of an assist from junior midfielder Lexie Palladino.
The assist extended Palladino’s point streak to four games, the longest of her career, which would come to an end later in the week. Palladino now has 13 points on the season and 26 for her career.
The Hawks took a 1-0 advantage into the half, and junior midfielder Jessica Johnson helped open the second half’s scoring with an assist to junior forward Madie Gibson who found the lower third of the net to double their advantage.
The 2-0 score stood the rest of way thanks to junior goalkeeper Amanda Knaub’s three saves as she collected her seventh shutout of 2018 and 27th for her career.
“This was a good result for us after we faced a lot of adversity with our travel yesterday,” said Head Coach Krissy Turner. “I am very proud of the team for how they handled themselves in earning another shutout and getting three points on the road.”
Saturday afternoon’s handling of Quinnipiac began early with the first of junior forward Dana Scheriff’s two goals in the 11th minute of the game.
The forward brought the ball to the byline out near the corner flag and swung a cross into the area that ended up flying into the left corner of the net.
Scheriff’s big day was the first two-goal effort of her collegiate career and brought her season point total to 11.
Freshman forward A’Liah Moore found the back of the net next after the goalkeeper’s diving save landed at her feet.
She tapped the ball into the open net to give Monmouth a 2-0 lead. The goal was Moore’s third of the year but first ever game-winner.
“I thought we had a great first half,” Turner said. “The second half we lost our focus and discipline which allowed Quinnipiac to create a lot of chances.”
Monmouth outshot the Bobcats eight to four in the first half, but were then outshot 11 to seven in the second.
Scheriff bettered her game-opening effort in the 50th minute after receiving a pass from DeLuca just inside the right corner of the penalty area and unleashing a right-footed strike that hit the top left corner of the net.
Gibson put a cap on Monmouth’s scoring less than a minute later, lining up the defender, cutting past with her right foot, and then shooting back across goal with her left to give them the 4-0 advantage.
Gibson was awarded MAAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition on Monday for her performances.
Knaub had to make eight saves on the day to preserve the lead for Monmouth, despite allowing one goal to get past her late in the game.
Quinnipiac’s 68th minute goal ended Knaub’s 473:01 minute shutout streak, but was not nearly enough to get the Bobcats back into the game.
“We have to be a 90-minute team every time we play,” Turner said.
The first-placed Hawks will now travel to Tennery Stadium in Poughkeepsie, NY for a rivalry matchup under the lights against second-placed Marist.
Monmouth will enter play leading the MAAC with a 10-3-1 record overall and 5-1-0 in the conference.
Meanwhile, Marist stands in a close second at 6-5-1 overall and 4-1-0 in the conference. Kickoff is slated for Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell
