WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State's women's soccer season came to an end with a 4-0 loss at national #1-ranked The College of New Jersey in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament at Lions Stadium in Ewing, N.J. on Saturday.
The Owls trailed just 1-0 at the half, with TCNJ holding an 8-3 edge in shots on goal.
Sophie Viera tallied just 3:48 into the match for the Lions, but Westfield countered the Lions offensive pressure for the remainder of the half.
"Although we made an early defensive mistake we settled down and competed really well in the 1st half," said Westfield State head coach Todd Ditmar. "Jenn Rennich had 2 really good chances to score but their defense played us tough all day. Jenna (Hurlburt) and Jaida (Cochran) played great catching TCNJ offsides a number of times."
Viera added back to back goals in a 51 second span less than two minutes into the second half, the first coming off of an assist from Gianna Coppola at 46:01. Fifty-one seconds later, Ava Curtis played a long pass down the right sideline for Viera, who fired to the back post for her ninth goal of the year and a 3-0 TCNJ lead.
The Lions added another goal at the 65:09 mark with Sofia Alves scoring on an assist from Amelia Curtis.
The two teams had to pause for nearly an hour due to a lightning delay late in the game due to a passing thunderstorm
TCNJ finished the game with a 16-9 margin in total shots and a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Lions held a 5-3 lead in corner kicks.
Westfield State's Lauryn Davis made five saves while TCNJ's Alexandra Panasuk and Kate Walsh combined for three saves.
"TCNJ's speed and individual skills were extremely impressive," said Ditmar. "I think it was a great experience playing the #1 ranked team and hopefully our players will be anxious to return to the NCAA's again next year."
Westfield State concludes the season with a 15-5-1. The 15 wins ties the third best win total in the history of the program.
TCNJ (17-0-2) advances to play Virginia Wesleyan or Messiah on Sunday.
