Women’s Soccer was eliminated from their third straight season of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament play by a 2-0 loss to No. 11 Virginia in the first round on Friday night in Charlottesville, VA.
The defeat put an end to Monmouth’s 11-game winning streak which was their longest since the program put 17 straight in the win column between the seasons of 1994 and 1995.
The defense was lockdown on both sides for the majority of the game and especially in the first 25 minutes for the Hawks before allowing a 27th minute goal from six yards out to open the game’s scoring.
Despite conceding a first half goal, junior goalkeeper Amanda Knaub tied her single half saves record with eight saves in the first 45 minutes to keep the Blue and White in the game.
Knaub did not have to make a single save in the second half however as she only saw one shot on goal, which got by her in the 51st minute to extend the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-0 on an unassisted score.
The Hawks’ defense was the highlight of the game, especially the second half. They allowed just one shot on goal thanks to senior defender LeAnne Davis, who had two blocks in the match, as well as freshman midfielder Jill Conklin who had several crucial clears.
This has been the story of the season for the Hawks, whose defense allowed multiple goals in a game for the first time this season on Friday, with every other match resulting in either a shutout or a lone goal.
Offense was the issue for the Blue and White, who were only able to record one shot in 90 minutes of play as they were outshot 23-1 for the game and 10-0 in shots on goal. The Cavaliers also held the advantage over Monmouth on corner kicks, taking six for the game to MU’s two.
“We are very disappointed in the result tonight,” said Head Coach Krissy Turner. “We knew our chances to score would be limited but we did create some good ones.”
Among the few quality scoring opportunities for the Hawks was junior forward Dana Scheriff who recorded the lone shot of the match for the visiting side.
Virginia will now advance to the second round of NCAA Tournament play where they will look to make a deep run after improving their all-time series record against Monmouth to 2-0 with their only other matchup also coming in the tournament. The Cavaliers’ next opponent will be unranked Texas Tech who they will face on Friday in Waco, TX.
As for the Hawks it was a milestone season for their group who recorded the program’s largest win total since 2013 with their 16 victories. They finished the season with a 16-4-1 overall record.
Monmouth continued to struggle however when facing nationally-ranked opponents as they are now 1-9 all-time and 3-9 against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents.
Amongst this year’s graduating senior class are forwards Alli DeLuca and Jazlyn Moya, defenders LeAnne Davis and Christina Balacco, and goalkeeper Laura Dramis who have combined to lead Monmouth to a 58-16-7 record during their time in West Long Branch.
“Our program is closing the gap and we will continue to work to get better so that next year the outcome will be different,” said Turner. “The coaching staff is super proud of our season as it was terrific. A big thank you to our senior class as they were instrumental in the success we have achieved the past four seasons.”
PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell
