WSOC Wraps Up Spring Season

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall University women’s soccer team wrapped up what proved to be a very successful spring campaign with a 2-0 win at Monmouth on Friday, April 19, and a 1-1 draw at Army on Friday, April 26, to post an undefeated record in its exhibition season.

As they have done throughout the spring it was junior Katie Ritter (Hagerstown, Md.) and freshman Christie Cherup (Wayne, N.J.) providing the offensive spark in the shutout victory at Monmouth.

Ten minutes into the game freshman Melissa Blevins (Laurel Springs, N.J.) started the first scoring play, guiding a diagonal through pass from left back up to Ritter who beat a defender to make a run onto the ball and send a goal strike into the upper right corner.

Junior Ashley Clarke (Paramus, N.J.), who was the Pirates’ assist leader in the fall and has played the same role in the spring season, set up Seton Hall’s insurance goal 10 minutes later.

A cross from Clarke through the box was deflected out to Cherup who deftly sent a one-timed left footed shot into the net for her third score of the spring.

Freshman Gina Maiorana (Street, Md.) and senior Jennifer Pettigrew (Kearny, N.J.) split time in the nets, posting a shutout in each half.

Pettigrew missed all of the 2012 season with an injury and Seton Hall head women’s soccer coach Kazbek Tambi says she has made it back to the All-BIG EAST form she displayed prior to the injury.

“Jenn worked very hard in training and has done a lot of conditioning off the field as well; she is probably at the best fitness level she has been in since she has been here,” Tambi said. “We are really excited about her once again becoming a prominent part of the team.”

In the spring finale at Army Ritter found herself in a familiar situation, once again pacing the Pirates’ offensive attack. In the 20th minute junior Marie Klemme (Berlin, Germany) made a throw out to freshman Alexis Urbanski (Aberdeen, N.J.) on the right wing, and she quickly made a cross through the box to Ritter for a one-time score.

Ritter, who scored three goals with two assists last season, will enter her senior campaign this fall ranked fourth in program history in career-goals scored (16) and sixth in total points (35).

“Katie Ritter scored in every game this spring, which is a great sign of things to come,” Tambi said. “As a forward the first aspect you look at in evaluating is goals and assists and she had a steady stream of goals in every game which is very good indicator of what she is capable of.”

The Pirates faced a series of difficult tests throughout the spring and played against a number of NCAA caliber opponents without suffering a loss. The offense specifically evolved and the team’s ability to finish offensive opportunities was one of the things that impressed Tambi.

“The spring was great in many respects but most importantly it was a good opportunity to give everyone a test run before hitting the real season coming up,” Tambi said.

During the next several months the Pirates will be tasked with maintaining the skill and fitness level developed both from the fall and spring seasons, mostly through competing in high level summer leagues while they are on summer break.

Every year there is a renewed sense of enthusiasm and excitement about a new season, but this offseason has a slightly different feel to it. Tambi has put together some big challenges in the non-conference schedule and of course there is the new BIG EAST Conference, with Creighton, Butler and Xavier entering the fold for the first time.

“There is real excitement about the upcoming season because we have a new situation and there are some new teams in our league,” Tambi said. “In addition to some difficult non-conference games; we are going to play at the University of Virginia, which is a national power, which will be a great test for us.”