Jersey City, N.J. – Behind a strong effort from freshman goalkeeper Megan Cotta (Point Pleasant, N.J.), the Mount Saint Mary College women's soccer team defeated New Jersey City University, 3-0, in a non-conference match-up played at Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. Cotta made seven saves to shutout the Gothic Knights, a team that had scored thirteen goals in their first two wins of the season.
For Mount Saint Mary, the impressive win moved them to 3-1 on the season, the best start for the program since the Blue Knights opened with seven straight wins in 1995. The victory also broke the two-game winning streak of New Jersey City University in the series between the two teams.
The Blue Knights opened up the scoring in the 22nd minute as junior Kristen Piatkowski (Madison, N.J.) found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. Piatkowski headed in a bouncing ball near the right post and junior Kaitlin Hunt (Wolcott, Conn.) was credited with an assist on the play.
Mount Saint Mary would double the margin towards the end of the first half as sophomore Lauren Dorsa (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) netted her second goal of the season. After stealing the ball from an NJCU defender, Dorsa launched a shot from deep on the right wing that beat the keeper for the Gothic Knights. The Blue Knights carried their 2-0 lead into the intermission.
Right out of the gates in the second half, New Jersey City had their best chance to sneak back into the game. Freshman Juanita Sarria (Englewood, N.J.) fired a shot that was labeled for the top right corner, but Cotta was there to make a leaping save and preserve the shutout.
The Blue Knights would put all thoughts of a comeback to rest at the 72 minute mark when freshman Kristen Maggio (Smithtown, N.Y.) scored the third goal for the Mount. Maggio took a long feed from senior Nicole Ryan (Maybrook, N.Y.), dribbled up the left side, and beat the keeper to the near post. The goal was the fifth of the year for Maggio as she extended her goal-scoring streak to four games.
The Mount will look to continue the hot start in their home-opener on Wednesday. The Blue Knights will take on the Albany College of Pharmacy on Kaplan Field beginning at 7:00 p.m.
