Box Score

SCRANTON - The 20th-ranked University of Scranton women's soccer team opened up a 4-0 lead at halftime and never looked back, as the Royals remained unbeaten on the year with a dominating 5-0 win over Catholic in Landmark Conference action on Saturday at Weiss Field.

With the victory, the winning way for the Royals continued, as they are now 13-0-0 for the first time in program history and 5-0 in the Landmark Conference. Catholic dropped to 5-8-1 and 0-5 in the Landmark with the defeat.

Right away, Scranton took control of the contest, scoring back-to-back goals in the first moments of the match and within a minute of one another.

First, in the 10th minute, senior Grace Elliott (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) snuck a shot into the goal off a nice cross from juniorTeresa Hegarty (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) to give the Royals the early 1-0 edge. For Elliott, it was her team-leading seventh goal of the year, while Hegarty notched her second assist of the year on the play.

A little over a minute later, sophomore Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y./Tappan Zee) headed in a goal off a pretty corner from senior Isabella DiBenedetto (Glen Cove, N.Y./North Shore) to give Scranton a 2-0 lead. The goal for Healy was the sixth of the year for the sophomore, while DiBenedetto notched her team-leading fifth assist of the year on the play.

The hits kept coming for Scranton as the half wore along. In the 25th minute, sophomore Emily Tantala (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) scored off a nice pass from freshman Emily Bannon (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) to make it a 3-0 Royals lead. For Tantala, it was her third goal of the year, while Bannon notched the first assist of her career at Scranton on the play.

Finally, to end the half, freshmanSamantha Goffice (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) broke away from the Catholic defense and buried a chance, unassisted, in the 40th minute to give the Royals a 4-0 lead into halftime. The goal for Goffice was the first of her career at Scranton, as well.

The four-goal edge was more than enough for the Royals to work with in the second half, as they coasted for the majority of the final 45 minutes of action. The final score of the game came in the 80th minute, as Goffice scored again off a cross from junior Evelyn Bruggeman (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan), who notched her first assist of the year on the play.

On the defensive end, it was once again another dominating day for the Royals, as they held Catholic to three shots, all of which came in the first 45 minutes of action.

The Royals also recorded yet another shutout victory on the afternoon, which was their 11th of the year and sixth straight overall. Scranton has now not allowed a goal in over 562 minutes of game action.

The University of Scranton women's soccer team returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 23, as they host Moravian on Senior Day. The Landmark Conference match begins at 1 p.m.

--ROYALS--