Seton Hall University
LIU Brooklyn
Players Mentioned
Offensive Flurry Leads WSOC Past LIU-Brooklyn
9/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Kristin Kosch (Mahwah, N.J.) and Sarah Fiorino (Glen Rock, N.J.) each scored the first goal of their career in the first five minutes against LIU-Brooklyn on Friday, putting the Seton Hall women's soccer team in front for good as the Pirates extended their unbeaten streak to four with an emphatic 3-1 victory over the Blackbirds at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The Hall (3-4-2) closes out non-conference play with its first home win of 2014, finishing with its highest scoring output to this point in the season on the strength of finishes from first time goal scorers Kosch and Fiorino as well as senior Angie Shehaj (East Brunswick, N.J.) who headed home the third goal of her career to provide late insurance for the Pirates.
Coming off a stretch of three consecutive overtime matches, first-year head coach Rick Stainton's squad got off to a fast start as the attack quickly pinned the Blackbirds down in their defensive third, exerting consistent pressure.
Following a Seton Hall corner kick and a series of deep throw-ins on the right wing, LIU-Brooklyn forward Taylor Berardicurti played a ball back into her own area that was intercepted by Kosch. With her back to goal, the Mahwah native sealed her defender, turned and fired a left-footed strike past goalkeeper Jessica Montrose and into the top corner.
Kosch has appeared in all nine matches during the current campaign and found the back of the net for the first time in a Pirate uniform just over three minutes into the first start of her career.
The early onslaught continued 80 seconds later when junior D'Yonna Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) sent in a free kick from 40 yards out that deflected to Amanda Gulli (Toms River, N.J.). Facing her own goal, Gulli laid it back to an open Fiorino adjacent to the penalty spot where the Glen Rock product volleyed it inside the left post to double the Seton Hall advantage.
With Kosch and Fiorino etching their names on the score sheet, four of the six goals registered by Seton Hall players this year have now come courtesy of first-time goal scorers.
The score would remain at 2-0 in favor of The Hall until the 74th minute when Blackbirds' forward Jenn Peters picked out teammate Caroline Kaplan at the top of the area where she produced a well-weighted chip that snuck over the out-stretched hand of Seton Hall keeper Illissa Blackshear (West Orange, N.J.) and under the bar to pull one back for the visitors.
The goal snapped a 434-minute shutout streak for Blackshear and the Pirates, one which spanned five matches and included three consecutive clean sheets.
Off the ensuing kickoff however, Shehaj would deliver the final blow, quelling any momentum for LIU-Brooklyn with a rapid response on the other end. Following the whistle, the ball was played from Shehaj, back to Melissa Blevins (Laurel Springs, N.J.) who found sophomore Frankie Maier (Oradell, N.J.) in enough space to release Cortes down the right wing with an incisive ball.
A sprawling Cortes got her foot on the ball and sent a cross far post where Shehaj was waiting to put it, and the match, away with a header.
Junior Gina Maiorana (Street, Md.) came on for Blackshear in the final 10 minutes and helped seal the victory with two saves.
With one assist apiece on the night, both Gulli and Cortes now lead the squad with three points through nine matches.
The Pirates allowed just six goals to non-conference opponents - the top mark in the BIG EAST - and will open league play with a pair of road matches in the coming week. Seton Hall will meet Providence in their BIG EAST opener for the second-straight season, traveling to take on the Friars on Thursday, September 25.
The Hall will then make its first-ever trip to Butler on Sunday, September 28 to close the first installment of league matches.
