Upper Montclair, NJ (9/12/02) – Sophomore
STEPHANIE SABALIAUSKAS (Edison, NJ) tallied a natural hat trick to key a five-goal second-half explosion, and the Montclair State University women's soccer team opened its 2002 home slate with a 7-1 win tonight at Sprague Field against Centenary College.
Montclair State, playing for the first time in 12 days, improved to 2-1 this season, while Centenary fell to 1-2. The seven goals tonight were more than MSU scored in any game last year, including two six-goal efforts. Montclair has also won five straight home games dating back to Oct. 13, 2001.
MSU senior defender MEGHAN CARR (Wyckoff, NJ) opened the scoring 5:40 into the first half following a corner kick from the right side. Carr's first shot was blocked by a defender, but she lifted the rebound over Centenary junior goalkeeper MICHELLE BURKE (Rochelle Park, NJ). Senior defender LU SCARABAGGIO (Iselin, NJ) then made it 2-0 for the Red Hawks off a 32-yard blast from the right wing that sailed over Burke's hands at 30:24.
Sabaliauskas made it 4-0 with goals at 66:30 and 68:17 to open the second half, both assisted by classmate LAUREN SIGNORELLA (Cranford, NJ), before completing her hat trick at 70:27. Her three goals came in a span of 3:57. Sophomore defender GABBY WHITE (Garwood, NJ) and classmate CASSIE NAHREBNE (Colonia, NJ) tallied exactly three minutes apart for a 7-0 MSU lead, before CC freshman midfielder BRENNA BRADLEY(Colonia, NJ) sprinted down the right wing and scored to the far side with 2:35 remaining in regulation for the Cyclones.
Burke finished with seven saves before being replaced by freshman KRYSTAL McCULLEN (Plainfield, NJ) with 9:42 left. McCullen finished with two saves, while MSU senior goalkeeper STEPHANIE ROMANKO (N. Brunswick, NJ) did not record any saves, including a penalty kick with 8:28 left that went wide right. MSU outshot CC, 25-3.
Montclair returns to action on Sept. 14-15 at the William Smith Tournament in Williamstown, MA. The Red Hawks will next play at home on Sept. 25 versus Rutgers-Newark in a New Jersey Athletic Conference matchup.
