CALDWELL, N.J. - A pair of first-half goals just 2 minutes, 11 seconds apart helped the Caldwell College women's soccer team defeat Felician 3-0 in the first round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Monday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The victory is the first-ever playoff win for the Cougars (11-7-1) in the program's eight-year history. Felician completes its season with a record of 5-13-1.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard in the 21st minute, when freshman Brook Delucca (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) (pictured) took a pass from fellow frosh Carla Bleiler (Egg Harbor, NJ/Absegami) and beat Golden Falcons' goalkeeper Amanda Musarra with a shot from 16 yards out. It was the fifth goal of the season for Delucca, who was named to the All-CACC second team earlier today. Just over two minutes later, freshman Jessica Davis (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) earned her team-leading eighth assist when she sent a long pass up the middle to junior Renata Fonseca (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Essex CC), who dribbled past a defender and scored from 15 yards out.
Felician's best scoring chance came in the 30th minute, when a rebound off of a free kick by Courtney Mason was headed by Makenzie Woods off the Caldwell crossbar. Despite having a 12-8 advantage in shots, the Golden Falcons entered the halftime break down 2-0.
Caldwell controlled play for much of the second half, allowing just one shot attempt by Felician. Bleiler closed out the scoring when she crushed a free kick from 35 yards out near the left sidelines that found the right corner of the goal. Bleiler, who was chosen the CACC Newcomer of the Year, leads the Cougars in scoring with nine goals and six assists for 24 points.
Junior goalkeeper Richelle Morse (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) made two saves for her eighth shutout of the season. Morse has allowed just three goals in eight home games as the Cougars went undefeated at Caldwell Field this year (7-0-1). Musarra recorded four saves for Felician.
With the win, the third-seeded Cougars advance to a CACC semifinal round match-up with No. 2 seed Wilmington on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 2:00 p.m. Both semifinal games as well as the finals will be played at Felician's Tryon Field in Rutherford, N.J.
CC - 1 2 - 3
FC - 0 0 - 0
Scoring Summary: 1. CC - Brook Delucca 5 (Carla Bleiler, Jenna Crance), 20:09. 2. CC - Renata Fonseca 5 (Jessica Davis), 22:20. 3. CC - Bleiler 9 (unassisted), 64:47.
Shots: CC - 16; FC - 13
Saves: CC - Morse 2; FC - Musarra, 4
Corners: CC - 5; FC - 1
Fouls: CC - 10; FC - 12
Offsides: CC - 2; FC - 1
Cautions: CC - Marinho (78:15); FC - none
