Two first-half goals in just three minutes helped Montclair State women’s soccer take control against Stockton University in an important New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) matchup.
Both teams were at a standstill for the opening moments of the game, each having their own difficulties with getting shots past the opponent’s goalkeeper. It wasn’t until about halfway into the first half where Montclair State was finally able to make some noise.
The Red Hawks broke through when senior midfielder Shannon Mullins connected on a header off an excellent cross into the box. Then three minutes later, freshman forward Mary Lane finished off another impressive cross to extend the lead to 2-0.
“I just have like a lot of energy when I go in and I think that gets me going,” said Lane on cementing the lead for Montclair. “Especially when the bench starts cheering too, it helps build my confidence and helps me get ready to play.”
The quick scoring sequence gave the Red Hawks an advantage against a Stockton team that played extremely physical defense throughout the contest. The Ospreys really challenged Montclair by forcing them to work for their scoring opportunities. However, the Red Hawks were just able to capitalize on their chances and managed to find the back of the net twice before halftime.
“They were very physical and they like to kick it up a lot,” stated Lane on Stockton’s defense. “It was a little frustrating at times, but we just kept on working through it.”
Coming out of the break, Montclair continued to apply pressure while remaining organized defensively. Rather than simply sitting back and mainly focusing on protecting their lead, the Red Hawks continued to look for opportunities to pile it on.
In the second half alone, Montclair recorded 13 shots, six of them being on goal, and those shots accounted for the majority of the 17 shots that they took throughout the entirety of the game. The continued offensive pressure kept the Ospreys from building momentum and prevented them from finding a way to get back into the contest.
“I think they took a lot of heat off of us,” stated Montclair State head coach Pat Naughter on how important it was for Mullins and Lane to get them on the board early. “Mary and Shannon don’t make too many mistakes. Shannon has been doing it for four years and Mary has gotten off to a great start in her career, so I was happy that the ball got to them in the box.”
With the 2-0 victory, the Red Hawks improve to 3-1 in NJAC play as they look to keep the good times rolling when they take on Rowan University this Wednesday.
“This is the beauty of the NJAC,” said coach Naughter. “There are very few conferences in the country where you could play three teams that only have two losses between the two of them at the start of the year. Rowan is awesome and we’ve had some really good games against them. They’re a really good team and I think that we are a really good team, so it should be a fun one.”
