The Monmouth University women’s soccer team added a draw and a win to their records in conference play, thanks to a strong performance on the defensive end in the first matchup and an offensive spectacle in the second. The Hawks took on the William & Mary Tribe on Thursday, Sept. 14 and the Pirates of Hampton on Sunday, Sept. 17, both on the road.
In their first game of conference play, the Monmouth Hawks (1-3-1, 0-0-1 CAA) took to the field for a 7 p.m. start in Williamsburg, Virginia against the Tribe (5-0-4, 2-0-1 CAA) and ended the match with a 0-0 draw. The team had not seen the pitch in 11 days due to a postponement, yet put up a strong and consistent effort throughout the entire match to keep the score tied with zeros.
Much of this success came from the defensive prowess of Monmouth goalie Cassandra Coster. The junior earned a season-high eight saves, fighting off pressure from the Tribe up until the final minutes and making seven of those eight saves in the second half.
With this matchup, Coster continues to raise the bar for goaltending in the conference, being only the second in the CAA to earn eight or more saves in a single game this season. Head Coach Kylee Flynn attested to her contribution and the resilience of her entire squad postgame, “Credit to our entire team for raising the level of training… to prepare us for our strong conference schedule and tough battles like tonight. Shout out to our goalkeeper, Cassie, as she came up big in the second half and made some world class saves to keep us in the game.”
In the second of the two road games, the Hawks took on the Hampton Pirates (0-10-0, 0-4-0 CAA) on Sunday, Sept. 17. Changing pace from the defensive showcase on Thursday, the Hawks turned up the offense for their 5-0 win.
The Hawks started out with a statement in the first period with four goals, one coming from sophomore Summer Reimet in only the 11th minute. With contributions from a multitude of Hawks, Marisa Tava, Lauren Bruno, and Loren Gehret all added their own goal to the scoreboard to make it 4-0 at the half.
The second half was a bit quieter offensively, but freshman Loren Gehret added another goal in the final minutes to finalize the score at 5-0.
Overall, the Hawks outshot the Pirates 23-2, with 13 shots on goal to the Pirates’ 0. However, in addition to the impressive team effort by the Hawks, the win also illuminated the bright future of the team with freshman contributions from Gehret for two goals as well as three assists from Gehret, Liza Suydam, and Lindsey Husic combined, all recent additions to the squad.
The weekend also got better for Coster, who in addition to her standout performance on Thursday earned her twelfth career shutout and third of the season.
The Hawks continue their travels on the road with a game against the Delaware Blue Hens in Newark, Delaware on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 6:00 p.m.
