CALDWELL, N.J. - Sophomore midfielder Victoria Aguilera (pictured) (Merida, Venezuela/Saucon Valley) scored a pair of goals as the Caldwell College women's soccer team defeated Dominican College, 2-1 in a key Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match Wednesday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The win moved the Cougars (6-2 CACC, 8-6-1 overall) to within one point of the third-place Chargers (6-2-1 CACC, 10-5-1 overall) in the CACC standings. It also gave Caldwell its eighth win of the season, breaking the program's record for most wins in a season.
Aguilera tallied her first goal of the game in the 28th minute. Junior midfielder Renata Fonseca (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Essex CC) dribbled the ball deep into Dominican territory, then across the endline to the right of the goal through a handful of defenders before finding freshman Carla Bleiler (Egg Harbor, NJ/Absegami) at the top of the penalty area. Bleiler sent a hard shot on goal that was saved by Chargers' goalkeeper Jill Slesinski, but the rebound bounced right to Aguilera, who buried the ball into the left side of the goal.
Just after halftime, the Cougars almost added another goal when freshman Jessica Davis (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) blasted a shot from 20 yards out that hit the crossbar. But Caldwell eventually would take a 2-0 lead when Aguilera headed home a free kick from the right side by Bleiler, who leads the Cougars in scoring with seven goals and four assists for 18 points.
The two-goal Cougar advantage lasted less than a minute, when Margaret Denman converted a penalty kick for her team-leading 13th goal of the season. The penalty kick was awarded to Dominican after junior goalkeeper Richelle Morse (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) collided with the Chargers' Pam Mertens near the top of the penalty area.
Dominican had a pair of opportunities to net the equalizer late in the second half with a pair of close-range free kicks, but Jill Smith was unable to put either attempt on goal.
Dominican held a 13-12 advantage in shots for the game while forcing Morse to make three saves. Slesinski also made three saves for the Chargers.
Caldwell looks to continue its success this Saturday, Oct. 23, when the Cougars play at Bloomfield College in an important CACC match. Game time is set for 10:30 a.m.
CC - 1 1 - 2
DC - 0 1 - 1
Scoring Summary: 1. CC - Victoria Aguilera 4 (Carla Bleiler, Renata Fonseca), 27:55. 2. CC - Aguilera 5 (Bleiler), 70:58. 3. DC - Denman 13 (penalty kick), 71:56.
Shots: CC - 12; DC - 13
Saves: CC - Morse , 3; DC - Slesinski, 3
Corners: CC - 4; DC - 4
Fouls: CC - 7; DC - 7
Offsides: CC - 0; DC - 0
Cautions: CC - none; DC - J. Smith (78:40)
