Box Score

SCRANTON - Three different members of The University of Scranton women's soccer team scored goals, as the Royals blanked their fifth straight opponent on the defensive end to notch a convincing 3-0 win over Wilkes in non-conference action on Tuesday night at Weiss Field.

With the win, the Royals (who are receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III Top 25 poll) continue one of their best starts in program history at 6-0-0.

Tonight's victory marks the first time in program history that a Scranton team has begun the season with six straight victories. The previous best starts in program history occurred with the 2018 Royals, who went 4-0 before a draw, while the 2003 Royals won their first five contests before their first draw of the year.

Wilkes fell to 1-5-0 overall with the defeat.

Right from the opening kick on Tuesday night, the Royals went on the attack and essentially put the Colonels away with two goals within seconds of each other early in the first half.

First, in the eighth minute, sophomore Claire Mulholland (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) scored her second goal of the year off a pretty pass in the box by fellow sophomore Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y./Tappan Zee) to make it a 1-0 game. For Healy, it was her second assist of the year, as well.

40 seconds later, Scranton scored again, as junior Teresa Hegarty (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy) scored her first goal of the year off a pass from sophomore Mary Haggerty (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City), to give the Royals a quick 2-0 lead. For Hegarty, it was the fifth goal of her career, as well, while Haggerty notched the first assist of her career on the play.

With a two-goal lead, Scranton rolled throughout the rest of the first half, until its last moments.

After a Wilkes foul with under 20 seconds left, sophomore Gab Richetti (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) scored her second goal of the season with three seconds remaining in the first half off an assist from senior Hope Drewes (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) to put the Royals up, 3-0, entering intermission. The assist for Drewes was the second of her season and the seventh of her career at Scranton, as well.

With the three-score lead, the Royals rode another strong defensive effort over the final 45 minutes to notch another shutout win.

Since allowing a goal in the first half of their first match of the year vs. Stockton on Sept. 3, the Royals have not allowed a score, as their scoreless streak now stands at over 505 minutes entering Landmark Conference play this weekend.

Overall, Scranton held a large 16-6 edge on shots in the win, to go along with a 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.

The University of Scranton women's soccer team returns to action on Saturday, as they host Susquehanna in their 2021 Landmark Conference season opener at Weiss Field. Action gets underway at 1 p.m.

--ROYALS--