Seton Hall University
Cincinnati
Clarke Ties Assist Record in Win
10/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
With four points in Seton Hall's win Clarke registered her seventh and eighth assists of the season, tying her with Seton Hall Hall of Famer Kelly Smith for the single-season record. She also moved all the way up to fourth-place in school history with 12 assists to her credit.
Clarke leads Seton Hall in scoring with three goals and eight assists for 14 points, which is the 10th-best single season total in school history. She also recorded a career-high eight shots against the Bearcats, four of them on net.
After playing a scoreless first half the goals came fast and furious in the second, but it was the Bearcats that found their way on to the scoreboard first, netting the first goal of the game just 42 seconds into the period.
Evi Ranson started the play for Cincinnati, sending a pass from midfield out to Callie Taylor on the right side. Taylor dribbled up to the right corner of the goal box and pulled the trigger on a low shot toward the far post that went past SHU goalkeeper Alyssa Kelly (Southampton, N.J.) to give the Bearcats a 1-0 lead.
Fewer than 10 minutes the Pirates were able to draw even thanks to Clarke's third goal of the season on what was the first of a bevy of quality offensive opportunities for Seton Hall over the final 40 minutes of the game. Clarke took advantage of a poor attempt to clear by Cincinnati from deep in their zone, settling and sending a shot from the left side all the way to the top right corner and past an outstretched Kristina Utley.
In the 69th minute it was redshirt senior Stephanie Soma (Franklin, Mass.) that benefitted from a strong pass from Clarke into the box, which she handled to score her team-leading fifth goal of the season and what proved to be her third game winner of the year.
Junior Brittney Albrecht (Mahwah, N.J.) started the play by sending a ball out to Clarke on the right wing, which she eventually centered to Soma in the middle of the box. Soma knocked the pass down with her chest and settled before popping it over Utley from about 10-yards out.
With the goal, Soma set a pair of new personal single-season highs with five goals and 11 points. She now has 12-career scores to go along with 29 points, which ties her for 10th in school history with Katie Andreski. Soma is just one goal away from moving into the top-10.
With Cincinnati's defense back on its heels, the Pirates capitalized, putting an insurance strike in the back of the net just a little over three minutes after Soma's go-ahead score.
Again it was the pair of junior midfielders in Albrecht and Clarke that helped create the scoring chance. This time Clarke made the initial pass, getting the ball over to Albrecht who touched a pass up the right side to junior Katie Ritter (Hagerstown, Md.). Ritter dribbled into the box and managed to beat Utley far post for her third goal of the season and her third goal over the past five matches.
Ritter has scored on three-straight Friday nights for Seton Hall and with her goal against Cincinnati she moved into a tie with Carley Piagentini for fourth place in school history with 16-career goals. She needs just one more tally to tie Katie Herr for third all-time and her two-points increased her career-tally to 35, leaving her in sole possession of sixth place and four points behind Nicki Gross for fifth.
Assisting two of the second half goals Albrecht cracked the SHU single-season top-10 list, tying for fourth-place with six assists on the year. She is fourth on the team in scoring this year with a goal and six assists for eight points.
Despite already leading 3-1, Seton Hall nearly scored twice more later in the second half. Clarke played a ball into Albrecht who had a line-drive shot snagged out of the air by Utley in the 76th minute, and senior defender Taylor Mims made an excellent centering pass to Ritter in the 82nd minute, but again Utley was there to make the save and keep Seton Hall from extending the lead.
Kelly made a pair of solid saves in the second half and finished with three stops on the night. Her best play of the night when she stopped a long shot from Katie Greer by diving to her left and gathering in the rebound to at that point keep the score tied at 1-1.
Seton Hall finished with a 22-11 advantage in shot attempts, despite Cincinnati recording the first five shots of the night. The Pirates limited the Bearcats to four shots on goal and zero corner kicks; it was the first time Seton Hall limited an opponent zero corner kick chances since a 1-0 win over Binghamton on Sept. 20, 2010.
Seton Hall (7-10, 2-7) returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 16, when it hosts Louisville at Owen T. Carroll Field at 1 p.m. Prior to the game the Pirates will celebrate senior day and honor their five seniors who are wrapping up their career at Seton Hall: defender Cristina Barthel (Freehold, N.J.), Mims, Soma, defender Rebecca Warrington (Magnolia, Del.) and Kelly.
