Barden Nets Two Second Half Goals As Women's Soccer Rallies Past Montclair State

9/8/2010 12:00:00 AM

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (September 8, 2010) – Freshman Bridgette Barden netted a pair of second half goals as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit, defeating Montclair State University, 2-1, at the MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, N.J. The Ducks, now 4-0 on the season, are off to their best start since the 2004 campaign, when the team raced out to a 13-0-1 mark en route to a Skyline Conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Red Hawks fell to 1-2-1 with the loss.

Montclair, which held a 7-5 shot advantage and 3-1 edge in corners during the first half, came out as the aggressors in the early-going; setting up the game's first scoring chance in the 20th minute. Following a Stevens foul, sophomore forward Rachel Senyszyn (Succasunna, N.J.) looked to stake the Red Hawks to an early lead, but junior goalkeeper Kaitlin McClymont turned away the ensuing penalty kick to preserve the scoreless tie.

After a Jenna Carroll (East Brunswick, N.J.) header off an MSU corner sailed wide at the 21:07 mark, McClymont would get tested on back-to-back shots from freshman forward Allison Wacker (Stockholm, N.J.) in the 29th minute before Senyszyn finally broke through at 30:09, heading in a Katie Minervini (Oceanport, N.J.) cross from the left end-line to give Montclair State the lead heading into the locker room.

Senyszyn looked to put the Red Hawks up two early in the second half, firing a pair of shots on goal in the first few minutes of the frame, but McClymont proved to be up for the challenge, smothering both chances to keep Stevens within striking distance.

As it has all season, a resilient Stevens squad looked to ratchet things up from there, firing the next five shots on goal over the next 10 minutes of action, prompting several saves from MSU netminder Marisa Zayac (Jackson, N.J.), while all but erasing Ducks' first-half shot deficit.

While continuing to push forward, the Ducks finally netted the equalizer in the 75th minute, when Barden tallied her first collegiate goal, winning a loose ball in the box off a throw-in before blasting it into the left corner of the net from seven yards out.

After sending a shot wide at the 78:02 mark, Barden struck again less than a minute later, firing a shot from distance into the top of the Red Hawk goal – past Zayac – to give Stevens a 2-1 advantage.

From there the Ducks' defense took over, cooling the Montclair State attack, allowing just one shot over the final 11 minutes of action to seal Stevens' fourth win of the season.

The Ducks finished with a 16-11 edge in shots – thanks to an 11-4 second half margin. Senior Katria Misilo recorded a match-high five shots – two on goal – while McClymont finished with six saves.

Stevens will host the Seventh Annual Engineering Cup featuring Kean University, Ursinus College, and New York University on September 11-12 at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J.
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