Second Half Explosion Sends UAlbany WSOC to Victory over NJIT 4-1
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ALBANY, N.Y. – Four unanswered goals, including a three-goal second half, by the UAlbany women's soccer team earned the Great Danes a 4-1 win over NJIT to finish out non-conference play.
“The team was able to find its rhythm again, connecting with each other through each line,” said UAlbany coach Caitlin Cucchiella. “We had a calming presence tonight, and the team was committed to the overall goal of keeping the ball.”
UAlbany (3-6-2), which outshot its opponent 33-8 in the contest, scored four-straight goals after NJIT's (2-9) Kylie Jones scored in the 25th minute. Following a Vivian Vega goal in the closing minutes of the first period, Shelby Belak's goal in the 56th minute served as the eventual game-winner. Krista Fitzpatrick netted two insurance goals in the following minutes to seal the game.
“It feels good that we won the last game before conference play,” said Fitzpatrick. “We were able to keep the ball, and we do well on what we were working on all week.”
Fitzpatrick earned her first two goals of the year, with Vega also earning four points off a goal, her sixth of the year, and two assists. Belak's goal was her second, while Kelly Kempf earned an assist on that same score. Alana Brennan notched the win, allowing just one goal in over 71 minutes in the cage.
Jones earned her first goal of the year for NJIT, contributing five of the team's eight shots. Karen David got the loss, allowing three goals in the second half with seven saves, with Samantha Barrett defending the cage in the first half with a goal and five saves.
UAlbany was the aggressor early, getting its first good look in the eighth minute. Off a Fitzpatrick corner, Caitlyn Paltsios notched a header just wide of the post. The team got another corner just a minute later, but the cross went out-of-bounds.
In the 20th minute, UAlbany pressured and got two attempts. Fitzpatrick took a shot that was picked up wide left, and 30 seconds later, Kiana Rugar tried her hand at a shot, also missing wide. The Great Danes stayed on the offensive end, with the team netting a ball of a defender's deflection, but the goal was waved off due to an offsides call.
The other way, Jones tried a 1-on-3 near the edge of the penalty box. Her first two shots were blocked, but returned to her. Jones tried a third time and scored inside the left post, putting NJIT up 1-0 in the 25th minute.
Alexa Schneider led the offense in the following minutes. A couple of her shots went wide, and in the 36th minute, she received a corner kick from Paltsios, heading the ball wide of the post.
UAlbany broke through in the 39th minute. 40 seconds after a shot of hers was saved, Kempf had a shot deflected by the keeper. The ball went past the goalkeeper and was kicked into the net by Vega to tie the game at 1-1.
Leanne Miller, a late substitution in the first half, earned a couple of shots in the latter minutes of the period, missing wide and high on separate attempts. The two teams went into the locker room tied at 1-1.
NJIT was the early attacker in the second half, with Madeline Griep and Grace Seely each sending shots towards the goal, but missing.
In minute 56, a cross to Vega was headed towards the right post, with the diving keeper getting a hand on the ball. The ball went to Belak, who kicked the ball into the cage to give UAlbany a 2-1 lead.
Not two minutes later, UAlbany had possession and pushed down the near side. Fitzpatrick got inside the box, around a defender and kicked to the cage, with the ball going in-between the legs of the diving goalie for the score, putting UAlbany up 3-1.
The possession stayed with UAlbany, as three shots in a span of eight minutes from Rugar, Fitzpatrick and Vega were all saved by David. Then in the 68th minute, Vega crossed a ball into the box for Fitzpatrick, who finished the shot for her second goal and making the score 4-1 UAlbany.
UAlbany nearly put a fifth goal on the board in the 85th minute. Allison Carhart fired a turnaround shot inside the box, which was stopped by the crossbar. Kempf and Angela Luizzi each had rebound shots from close range blocked by defenders to prevent the score. The Great Danes held the advantage and took the 4-1 victory.
The Great Danes will get ready for conference play, going to Connecticut to play Hartford on Sunday, September 28th at 2 p.m.
