Top-Seeded Monmouth Advances To Championship Round
MAAC Sports
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – Erica Murphy’s unassisted goal with less than three minutes left in the first half proved to be the game winner as the top-seeded Monmouth University women’s soccer team defeated fifth-seeded Rider University 3-0 in the first semifinal of the 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports.
The victory propelled Monmouth, the MAAC’s regular season champion, into Monday’s championship match at noon. The Hawks will play No. 2 seed Fairfield, which advanced with a 1-0 win over No. 6 Siena. The championship match will get underway at 12:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3.
Murphy, a 5-5 freshman forward, broke the scoreless tie when she converted a shot from the top of the box t 42:02. It was her second goal of the year.
Senior forward Monique Plescia extended the Hawks lead to 2-0 when she converted a rebound from a missed shot in the 61st minute for her seventh goal of the season. Senior Dana Costello was credited with the assist.
Junior back Alexa Freguletti rounded out the scoring for the Hawks with a free kick from 40 yards out at 68:11 for her fifth goal of the year.
Monmouth outshot the Broncs 17-7, and had the edge in corner kicks, 5-2. Monmouth goalie Ashley Lewis, the MAAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, was credited with two saves. A pair of freshmen goalies, Bethany-May Howard and Vanessa Perdomo, split the halves for Rider. Howard had three saves in the first half, while Perdomo had five saves.
The victory improved the Hawks record to 16-1-2. Rider ended its season with a 9-8-1 overall record.