The Red Hawks continue to live up to this season’s expections.
Photo courtesy of MSU Sports.
Montclair State University’s women’s soccer team has remained undefeated over the course of the last eight games. The Red Hawks drew 0-0 against Stockton University (6-1-2) on Sept. 23 and earned a 5-0 victory against Vassar College (5-3) on Sept. 26. The women are now ranked 23rd nationally in Division III and have won seven out of their last eight games.
Montclair State and Stockton University needed 110 minutes to settle their contest, but ultimately neither team was able to break through and the game ended in a scoreless draw. The women struggled to get much going in the beginning of the match, as they only registered one shot in the first half. Freshman goalkeeper Molly Barrow made a few saves to keep the game scoreless heading into the second half.
Defense remained a key factor in the second half. However, the Red Hawks were able to send more shots the Ospreys’ way and forced Stockton goalkeeper Nicole Pallante to make two saves in the last half of regulation play.
Neither team was able to record a shot in the first half of overtime, but the women picked up the pace in the second half. They had five shots – including two by senior midfielder Shawna Grabowski in the final two minutes – but could not finish on any of their opportunities.
Barrow kept the game at a 0-0 score by making her fifth save of the game with one minute to go and went on to earn her first shutout in the draw.
The Red Hawks moved on quickly from their scoreless performance and earned a commanding 5-0 victory against Vassar College. The women had five different players contribute goals and also picked up their fourth consecutive shutout.
Freshman midfielder Ashley Koester opened up the scoring for the Red Hawks when she received a pass from senior defender Janae Geonnetti and sent the shot into the lower-right corner of the net. At the 27:05 mark of the first half, sophomore midfielder Heather Sootkoos scored her first goal of the year off an assist from senior forward Martina Landeka.
The women outshot Vassar College 9-0 in the first half and continued their domination into the second. Junior defender Kimberly Mignone scored on a penalty kick five minutes into the second half. Just a little over two minutes later, sophomore forward Tyler Madison scored her sixth goal of the season.
Senior forward Stefanie Gomes capped off the scoring with a goal off of a cross at the 83:55 mark. The Red Hawks outshot Vassar College 16-2 over the course of the game and freshman goalkeeper Erinne Finlayson earned her third shutout of the season.
