SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton women's soccer team (8-2-3, 5-0 Landmark) used three second half goals to pull away from the Wilkes University Colonels (2-5-4, 0-3-1 Landmark) in a 4-0 victory on Tuesday night at Weiss Field in Scranton.
With the victory, Scranton extends its unbeaten streak to nine and remains the lone unbeaten team in Landmark Conference play.
The Royals threatened in the opening 15 minutes of the game when Wilkes goalie Hannah Landis made a pair of saves on shots from junior Samantha Goffice (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) and senior Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y./Tappan Zee) in the 12th and 14th minutes. The pressure continued to mount and Scranton saw consecutive quality chances in the 18th minute, but the game remained scoreless for the time being. In the 33rd minute, sophomore Linda Daly (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) collected a loose ball near the top of the 18-yard box and buried a shot at the far post to give the hosts a 1-0 edge with her second goal of the season.
Scranton was able to extend the lead in the 51st minute when junior Emily Bannon (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) crossed a ball into the box and senior Mary Haggerty (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) tapped it home to make it a 2-0 game. Just over six minutes later, the Royal struck again as Haggerty's initial shot was saved by Landis and fellow senior Emily Tantala (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) buried the rebound for her third goal of the season and a 3-0 lead. From there, Scranton was able to cruise to the victory and added a fourth goal in the 70th minute when sophomore Morgan Griffin (Sea Cliff, N.Y./North Shore) played a ball over the top to senior Claire Mulholland (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) who beat Landis with a low shot to the far post.
Haggerty and Mulholland both found the back of the net for a second straight game, while Bannon has recorded a point in five straight games and eight of her last nine. Bannon's eight assists on the season are also tied for the conference lead and rank in the top 20 in all of Division III.
The Royals held a dominant 24-1 edge in shots led by eight from Healy and juniors Nicole Olson (Stoughton, Mass./Ursuline Academy) and Kaitlyn Torres (Morganville, N.J./Colts Neck) combined on the shutout in net. Olson recorded one save in her 75 plus minutes of action.
The University of Scranton women's soccer team hits the road to battle Juniata on Saturday afternoon with start time slated for 3:30 p.m.
--ROYALS--
