09102010 WSOCCER HIGHLIGHTS

JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Junior forward JULIA CASERES (Union, NJ/Union) notched her second consecutive hat trick and her eighth in the first 26 games of her New Jersey City University women's soccer career and sophomore midfielder GABRIELLE CLARKE (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) collected two assists on crosses as the Gothic Knights blanked Mount Saint Mary College (NY), 3-0, in the opening round of the NJCU Liberty Cup played Friday afternoon at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. NJCU outshot MSMC, 33-3, including 18-1 in the second half.

NJCU improves to 3-1 overall and has won 11 of its last 13 home games since 2008. MSMC drops to 2-2. NJCU has won five of the last six meetings in a series the Blue Knights lead, 7-6-1. Ramapo College downed SUNY Old Westbury, 11-2, in Friday's other opening round Liberty Cup game.

The stringy NJCU defense helped the hosts dominate possession and limit MSMC to two shots on goal. Junior backs ERICA BUONACQUISTA (Aberdeen, NJ/Bayonne) and MARGIE ALFANO (Randolph, NJ/West Orange) and rookie sweeper CAITLIN BOURQUE (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) played a full 90 minutes in front of junior keeper LAURA ROBINSON (Edison, NJ/Edison), who made two saves to preserve the squad's second shutout of the year.

Sophomore defender DELIA CHERNEZ (Union City, NJ/Union City) logged 64 of solid defense and the Knights, behind the play of its center midfielders, junior KATLIN VARGO (Edison, NJ/Union Catholic) and sophomore ASHLEY CUNHA (Edison, NJ/Edison) continued to push the ball up field, highlighted by six different players collecting three or more shots—as many as the entire visiting team. Sophomore midfielder CHELSEA SPETHMANN (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights-Wood Ridge) tallied her third assist of the season.

Caseres, who has scored in every game this season, notched her seventh, eighth and ninth goals of the season and became the seventh player in New Jersey Athletic Conference history to register at least 60 career goals. She now has 61 goals in 45 career games—22 at Rutgers-Newark in 2008 and 39 in 26 games with NJCU. She had eight shots and four on target. Cunha attempted seven shots.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• wsoccer