The Stony Brook women’s soccer team controlled every factor in its 4-0 victory over Sacred Heart at Campus Field in Fairfield, Connecticut on Friday. Freshman forward Alyssa Francese started for the second straight match and recorded another goal, her fourth of the last two games, providing an early lead that Sacred Heart never challenged.
Francese’s goal came in the fourth minute, as she beat her defender and dribbled just outside of the box to find the left corner of the net.
“The last two games she’s really stepped up,” Head Coach Brendan Faherty said. “It’s taken [Francese] a little while to adjust to the college game, but now that she’s seen it, she’s finding success.”
The Seawolves would continue to hound the Pioneers’ defense, creating 13 shots in the game, eight of which were on goal, going on to win the game 4-0 and improving their overall record to 4-6.
Stony Brook added to its lead quickly, as junior defender Allyson Baner scored a header off a pass from senior midfielder Samantha Goodwin in the 23rd minute. The goal was the defender’s first of the season and the second of her Stony Brook career.
The Seawolves’ rapid pace continued to pay off in the second half. Freshman midfielder Chase Rome scored her first goal of the season on a header after an assist from freshman midfielder Kimmy Chavkin. Just over three minutes later, Chavkin found junior forward Julie Johnstonbaugh who sent a shot into the top right corner of the net for her second goal of the season. It was a good sign for Johnstonbaugh, who had to leave Sunday’s match against Wagner with an undisclosed injury.
“It was good to get her back in the fold and have her helping the team win,” Faherty said about Johnstonbaugh’s return. He added that she reacted well to scoring in the limited playing time and will be crucial to the team competing going forward.
After a tough five-game stretch in which Stony Brook was outscored 9-1, the team demonstrated it can still be a high-powered offense in the last two matches. The 10 goals the Seawolves have scored over this stretch are the most they have ever scored in back-to-back matches.
“Even though we weren’t scoring, I thought we were playing good soccer,” Faherty said. “Now that we’ve found our way, we’re taking advantage of our opportunities and are feeling good heading into conference play.”
Stony Brook will travel to Maine to begin its conference schedule, starting with the Black Bears on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. Maine leads the all-time series, 10-9, but Stony Brook defeated Maine last season 2-0.
Correction: Oct. 2, 2017
A previous version of this story listed Tim Oakes as the author. Ryan Pavich wrote the story.
