By Tyler Fennell
Staff Writer
The College’s women’s soccer opened up their season with a lossless weekend. The College started its season on Aug. 29 against Salisbury with a 4-1 win. The College then followed this victory with a scoreless tie against St. Mary’s on August 30.
Their first game against Salisbury showcased the team’s possession game, largely controlling the pace of play throughout most of the game.
Junior Alyssa Alfano opened up the scoring just two minutes and three seconds into the match. Shortly thereafter, at the 3:25 mark, sophomore Taylor Krott scored. Later on at the 32:46 mark, Senior Abby Najdzinowicz made the lead 3-0 by the end of the first period. In the second half, an uncredited goal was scored by the College at the 67:51 mark, making the lead 4-0.
The College ended up letting one goal in at the end of the second half, reducing their lead to three, as they took their season opener by a score of 4-1 over a tough Salisbury team.
Regarding team stats, the College dominated in possession metrics with 15 shots to Salisbury’s seven, 12 of which were on goal as opposed to just five from Salisbury. The College maintained a disciplined game, only taking three fouls compared to Salisbury’s six.
Their second game against St. Mary’s can only be described as an enigma. Despite the score reflecting a 0-0 tie, the College dominated in almost every team metric. Their defense was outstanding, not allowing a single shot throughout the entire game. The College, on the other hand, had 19 shots, seven of which were on goal.
However, with their clearly superior possession game, they did not have the most disciplined game, committing seven fouls, yet still outdone by St. Mary’s eight.
Another reason why the College did not walk away with a win can be attributed to their accuracy. With only seven of their 19 shots on target, they did not showcase the same accuracy they did in their impressive win in their season opener.
The final reason as to why the College couldn’t come out with a win was a stellar goaltending performance by the St. Mary goalkeeper, posting a shutout against the relentless Lions' offense.
Despite the College not starting the season with two wins back-to-back, there is still a lot to like from their tie against St. Mary, primarily their defense and possession. The College is back in action when they host New York University in the first game of the TCNJ Classic on Saturday, Sept. 6.
