Oct. 21, 2005

Box Score

TEANECK, NJ - The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's soccer team had two second-half goals to edge visiting Monmouth in a Northeast Conference match-up, 3-1, at University Stadium on Friday afternoon. The Knights improve to 7-7-1 overall, including a 3-2-1 mark in league action, while the Hawks fall to 4-7-3, with a 2-3-1 record in league play.

The Knights dominated play in the first half, maintaining possession in front of the Monmouth goal for the majority of the first 45 minutes.

FDU capitalized on the momentum with the only goal in the first half when senior Marguerite Ferrell (Rahway, NJ) stole a pass from a defender to put the play in motion. With eight minutes left in the half, Ferrell found junior Christine McCartney (Ottawa, Ontario) streaking down the left side and sent a long pass. McCartney sidestepped to draw out the goalie and buried the ball into the open net for her fifth goal of the season.

Eight minutes into the second half, senior Kristen Habenicht (New Hyde Park, NY) started a breakaway down the right side with a pass to Ferrell, who blasted it in from 17 yards out to give the Knights a 2-0 advantage.

Sophomore Brittani Heller (Newton, NJ) put the Hawks on the board in the 75th minute when she intercepted a clear at the top of the box and punched it in from the right side, 15 yards out into the far left post.

Senior Ana Moniz (Bridgewater, MA) connected with sophomore Michelle DeCourcey (Fredericton, New Brunswick) with eight minutes left in regulation to add an insurance goal and make the final 3-1. Moniz passed through two defenders and DeCourcey found the back of the net from 12 yards out.

"It was a great all around performance by everyone," said Head Coach Peter Gaglioti. "It was one of the best performances of the year."

"It is great to have Marguerite still scoring goals, but we also have a couple of other people finding the back of the net and other people being dangerous," said Gaglioti. "We're starting to peak at the right and that is the important part, when we come to the conclusion of the year and are in conference play."

Junior Kyla Clark (Ottawa, Ontario) made five saves in between the posts for the Knights.

"We have to continue playing and competing as we did today with the remaining three games to ensure a spot in the tournament," said Gaglioti.

The Knights are back in action when they host Mount St. Mary's at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 23, in the final home game of the season. The six graduating seniors will be honored before the start of the game.