CALDWELL, N.J. - Kelly Egan-Thorpe scored a pair of first-half goals to lead Dominican College to a 2-0 win over Caldwell College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's soccer match Tuesday afternoon at Caldwell Field. The loss drops the Cougars to 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference, while the Lady Chargers improve to 3-8-2, 2-3-1 CACC.
An unusual series of plays led to the first goal of the game. With a Dominican player apparently hurt on the field, Caldwell knocked the ball out of bounds on their side of midfield to allow for the injured player to be attended to. Instead of throwing the ball in to Caldwell as is customary, the Lady Chargers quickly played the ball and attacked, sending Egan-Thorpe in alone on a breakaway. Egan-Thorpe capitalized on the communication mix-up, scoring in the 12th minute for a 1-0 lead. She scored her second goal of the game in the 27th minute, dribbling up the middle through the Caldwell defense and beating senior goalkeeper Richelle Morse (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) with a blast from 18 yards.
Dominican's good fortune continued into the second half. Shots by sophomore midfielder Samantha Rinks (Corinth, TX/Billy Ryan), and juniors Danielle Shovlin (Allentown, NJ/Notre Dame), pictured, and Carla Bleiler (Galloway Twp., NJ/Absegami) hit the post, and a rocket by Bleiler from 25 yards out in the 62nd minute clanged off the crossbar. Bleiler also had a shot deflect off Dominican goalkeeper Valentina Sturchio, ricochet off the post and back to Sturchio, keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard. Caldwell held a 13-6 advantage in shots for the game.
Morse recorded two saves, both in the first half, for the Cougars, while Sturchio made four saves for the shutout.
The Cougars host Philadelphia University on Saturday, Oct. 7 in another important CACC match-up. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. at Caldwell Field.
CC - 0 0 - 0
DC - 2 0 - 2
Scoring Summary: 1. DC - Kelly Egan-Thorpe (unassisted), 11:30. 2. DC - Egan-Thorpe (unassisted), 26:48.
Shots: CC - 13; DC - 6
Saves: CC - Richelle Morse 2; DC - Valentina Sturchio 4
Corners: CC - 3; DC - 0
Fouls: CC - 4; DC - 9
Offsides: CC - 0; DC - 0
Cautions: none
