Pirates and Monmouth Set for Holiday Clash
8/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's soccer team resumes action tomorrow, wrapping up the holiday weekend with a non-conference matchup against visiting Monmouth at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The Pirates will be taking on a third consecutive intra-state opponent in the Hawks and will look to secure their second victory of the young season after dropping two straight 1-0 decisions - first to Rider in last week's home opener then to a Rutgers squad that received votes in the latest national poll in Piscataway on Friday.
Despite the recent narrow setbacks, the strength of the Seton Hall defense has remained a constant. After shutting out Marist to open the year, The Hall sits tied for the second-fewest goals allowed in the BIG EAST.
Between the posts, the Pirates have shown that first-year head coach Rick Stainton has a number of quality options at his disposal as well. Junior Gina Maiorana (Street, Md.) has started all three contests and ranks in the top-five in the conference in both goals against average (0.80, fifth) and save percentage (.778, fourth).
Sophomore Illissa Blackshear (West Orange, N.J.) relieved Maiorana to start the second half against the Scarlet Knights, making two stops in her collegiate debut to help the Pirates limit a Rutgers squad that found the back of the net six times in its first two games to a single goal.
Stainton has also been pleased with how his side has adapted to the build-up style of play that was an emphasis during the preseason and The Hall continues to work to find that final ball.
The meeting between Seton Hall and Monmouth will pit a pair of 1-2-0 teams against each other as the Hawks have already matched their loss total from a year ago. Coming off a 17-win season that featured an NCAA Tournament berth, Monmouth was chosen as the preseason favorite to repeat as MAAC champions. Thus far, the Hawks' lone triumph came by a 1-0 score line over American, a result that is sandwiched between a pair of defeats at the hands of Delaware and Bucknell.
Monmouth yielded three goals to the Blue Hens in their only previous road appearance of the season and also allowed three in their most recent trip to South Orange, a 3-0 win for the Pirates in 2012. On that day, Seton Hall was led to victory by a pair of current seniors as a brace for Kristina Meier (Paramus, N.J.) provided the decisive difference before Angie Shehaj (East Brunswick, N.J.) tacked on a late score.
The Hawks rebounded to hold off a late rally in a 3-2 victory last fall in West Long Branch but the Pirates still hold a definitive 12-4-3 all-time advantage over one of the most common opponents in program history.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Monday. A live stream of the contest will be available through the Pirate Sports Network while a radio broadcast can be heard online at www.WSOU.net
