Women’s soccer defeated Fairfield University 2-0 on Wednesday, Oct. 30 under the lights at Hesse Field. The win allows Monmouth to finish the season undefeated, with a perfect 10-0 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Monmouth’s overall record for the regular season was 12-2-2.
Monmouth is the first MAAC team to finish the regular season with a perfect record. This is the third time the Hawks have posted an undefeated season while the other two were in 2013 and 2016.
In the 22nd minute of the game, Monmouth took a 1-0 lead over Fairfield. The Hawks scored off a corner kick. Freshman midfield Maddison Perna scored a goal on a header on a pass from senior midfield Jess Johnson. The goal was enough to earn Perna MAAC Rookie of the Week honors for the first time in her career. The senior Hawks were honored before the game on the Great Lawn as they capped off an undefeated season.
“This was a terrific send off for an amazing group of seniors, said Head Coach Krissy Turner. “They continued to build upon our culture of excellence and took it even further. They are wonderful ambassadors of our program in all facets of life.”
In the final minute of the contest, fifth year forward Madie Gibson scored the second goal of the game for the Hawks to seal the victory. That was Gibson’s sixth goal of the season and 33rd of her career. Her goal came off an assist from senior midfield Lexie Palladino, who leads the Hawks with 19 points. She now has an impressive 51 points in her career as a Hawk.
Gibson also achieved a milestone on Senior Night. She moved passed Meg Eberhardt for sole possession of fifth place in points scored as a Hawk. Eberhardt played for Monmouth from 1985 to 1987. Gibson now has 97 points scored, which also ranks ninth in MAAC women’s soccer history.
Senior goalkeeper Amanda Knaub recorded three saves against the Stags. Her scoreless streak now spans 642:55, which marks the longest of her career. Her shutout against the Fairfield Stags is her 12th shutout of the season, which is the most shutouts for a Monmouth goalkeeper since Ashley Lewis recorded 13 shutouts in 2013. The performance granted Knaub MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
While the Hawks recorded a shutout victory, Coach Turner sees some room for improvement before women’s soccer begins postseason play.
“We didn’t play our best soccer of the season tonight, but we earned another shutout and achieved one of our goals of being 10-0 in the MAAC,” said Turner. “It is now time to focus on the championship part of our season and focus on the semifinals.”
Overall, Monmouth outshot Fairfield 18 to four, with six shots to Fairfield’s three on goal. Gibson led the Hawks with two shots taken. Monmouth took eight corner kicks, while Fairfield took just one. Fairfield committed 11 fouls to the Hawks’ eight. Monmouth leads the all-time series 8-1-1 and has won three straight versus the Stags.
Next up for Monmouth women’s soccer is the MAAC semifinal contest. The Hawks are set to take on Niagara Thursday Nov. 7 on The Great Lawn at Hesse Field. Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the game or online at maac.ticketleap.com.
PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell
