Box Score

SCRANTON -- Senior Grace Elliott (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) and sophomore Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.J./Tappan Zee) scored two goals, apiece, throughout the second half, as The University of Scranton women's soccer team kicked off their home 2021 slate with a convincing 4-0 win over Lebanon Valley on Thursday night at Weiss Field.

With the shutout win, Scranton moved to 4-0 overall, while LVC dropped to 0-3-1 with the defeat.

To start, it was an even match between the squads throughout the first half, with each team just missing out on several chances to score. But, Scranton seemed to be building momentum on the offensive end just as the half ended, as they just missed a goal off a corner kick right before the horn for intermission sounded.

That momentum immediately carried over to the second half, where Scranton scored early and often to put away LVC.

First, in the 48th minute, sophomore Claire Mulholland (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) lined up a corner kick at Scranton's end. Her pass was perfect to senior Callie Deola (Churchville, Pa./Council Rock South) who headed a pass straight to Elliott who knocked home the chance to give the Royals the 1-0 edge. The eventual game-winner for Elliott was her second straight overall and sixth of her career at Scranton.

Five minutes later, Elliott struck again off of a very similar play. Mullholland on a corner kick once again placed a perfect ball into the scoring zone to senior Hope Drewes (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) who dished the ball off to Elliott who buried the chance to make it a 2-0 game. The goal for Elliott was her fourth of the year and was just the second multiple score game of her career at Scranton (the last came in 2018 vs. Marywood).

Up 2-0, the offense did not let up, and in the 70th minute added another goal as Healy scored her second career goal off a free ball to make it a 3-0 game. Then, in the 74th minute, Healy notched the first multiple score game of her career off a perfect pass into the box by senior Steph Lowrey (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), giving the Royals a 4-0 lead.

That edge was more than enough for the Scranton defense to work with, as the Royals pitched their third straight shutout. They have now not allowed a goal in over 325 minutes of game action, as senior Amanda Steinberg (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) notched her 11th career shutout, making two saves on the evening.

The University of Scranton women's soccer team returns to action on Saturday, when they travel to Stevens. Action in Hoboken, N.J. gets underway at 4 p.m.

--ROYALS--