Box score
NEWARK, NJ—Monmouth freshman Dana Costello scored once in each half of her first college game and the visiting Hawks left Newark with a hard-fought 2-0 women's soccer victory over NJIT in the season opener for both teams Friday night on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium.
Costello, who scored 55 goals in her career at Jackson (NJ) High School, was an opportunist on both of her first two college goals, each of which resulted from takeaways in the attacking area.
She found the ball in close in the 37th minute and knocked the ball past Highlander goalkeeper Sadie Mele on an unobstructed shot from less than 10 yards away.
Monmouth's insurance tally came at 78:01, after Gianna Russo gained control of a loose ball inside the penalty area. The first shot was covered by Mele, who dove at Russo's feet, but the rebound trickled loose and Costello was there to finish the play for her second goal of the night.
Monmouth, almost certainly among the strongest teams on NJIT's 2010 schedule, is the preseason pick of the NEC coaches to capture its third conference title in four years. Last year, the Hawks were 15-5-1 overall, including a loss in the NCAA Tournament, plus an 8-1-1 regular season conference record.
In Friday's season opener, the visitors outshot the Highlanders, 20-6, while the corner kicks favored the Hawks, 5-3.
NJIT's Mele, a senior, who was the 2009 Great West Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Year, was stellar in goal, making 11 saves and repeatedly ranging as much as 40 yards out into the field to break up Monmouth's attacks.
Monmouth senior goalkeeper Lia Fierro was credited with one save in posting the shutout.
Both teams had quality scoring chances that didn't result in goals. The Hawks barely missed out when a long shot from Mary Wilks, a 13-goal scorer in 2009, clanked off the goal frame, hitting where the right post meets the crossbar in the 33rd minute.
NJIT had its two best chances after it trailed, 1-0. The first was not even a shot, but was a near-miss, nonetheless. In the 49th minute, sophomore Amanda Dotten, on the left wing, passed the ball on to Piper Lunan who sent a fine cross toward the far post, but the feed slipped just beyond the reach of Amanda Redden who was trying to slide into the pass near the doorstep.
In the 62nd minute, NJIT's Dotten launched a hard, high shot that sailed just wide from 25 yards away.
Although Monmouth was the stronger team on Friday, this year's meeting between the schools—the fourth all-time (all MU wins)—represented a step forward for the Highlanders, who are beginning their fifth season of competition at the Division I level. In the last meeting, on September 12, 2008, Monmouth defeated the Highlanders, 7-0, and had a 20-1 advantage in shots. The two teams did not play each other last season.
The Highlanders will have a quick turnaround, visiting another New Jersey non-conference rival, Saint Peter's for a 1 pm game on Sunday in nearby Jersey City.
