Shutout Streak Stays Alive, Women's Soccer Ends In Stalemate

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's soccer team played to a scoreless draw in a hard-fought matchup with the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University (JWU), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest on the USJ Soccer Field Saturday afternoon. It marks the first time since 2014 that the Blue Jays have not lost to JWU in their yearly matchup and they now run their shuout streak to 470 straight minutes without conceding a goal to start the season.

It was a game of halves, with the Blue Jays largely controlling the pace of half number one, before the Wildcats and their deep bench kicked it into high gear, relying on a relentless attack in hopes of netting the game's only goal in the second stanza. The matchup went to overtime, then a second overtime, as both goalies stood their ground on each and every scoring opportunity. The Blue Jays backline defense in particular played a key role, as senior captain Jenna Banta (Montville, Conn.), junior Elizabeth Garlock (Meriden, Conn.), junior Tatiana Bilbraut (Hartford, Conn.), freshman Gabriella Gulino (Wethersfield, Conn.), and graduate senior Emily Remicio (West Hartford, Conn.) combined to aid the Blue Jays' defense when it mattered most.

GAME INFORMATION
Score:  Johnson & Wales 0, Saint Joseph 0 (F/2OT)
Records: JWU 3-3-1, (1-0-1 GNAC), USJ 4-0-1 (1-0-1 GNAC)
Location: USJ Soccer Field | West Hartford, Conn.

COACH QUOTE [Jenna Kalwa] "It was all about effort. Everyone from the starting 11 to our bench, it was a full team effort across the board. It was done by keeping ourselves accountable and trusting ourselves in our roles and the jobs that we needed to do. Tomorrow is my one-month anniversary of knowing my team. That allows us to see the standard that we are capable of playing even this early in the season. It sets the bar that we are going to continue this moving forward. Elizabeth Garlock was tremendous today. She had a job to do and she did it for a full 110 minutes. She pushed through cramping and other physical things and hung in there. She's a 'never say die' kind of kid…she did her job, and she did it well. A big shout out to our whole backline, Jenna Banta, Tatiana Bilbraut, and Gabriella Gulino for staying focused. The reason we were able to stay in that game was because of our defense."

GAME NOTES

• The Blue Jays have not lost through their first five matches for only the second time in over a decade (2017 started 5-0-1).
• Career-high seven saves for sophomore goalie Victoria Schaffner (Waterbury, Conn.).
• Schaffner is the only goalie in the GNAC with a 1.000 save percentage. She is also one of three goalies with three wins.
• JWU dominated in the shots department, 20-5, and held a 6-3 corner kicks edge.

NUMBER TO KNOW

0 – The Blue Jays remain the only team in the GNAC to not allow a goal this season. The shutout streak has now reached 470 straight minutes.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

USJ – Schaffner is credited with the tie (3-0-1), picking up the career-best seven saves in 110 minutes of work.

JWU – Freshman goalie Carly McCrumb (Grandville, Mich.) was impressive in her own right, picking up a pair of saves in the full double-overtime match.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays will be back in action for a road GNAC Match against the Saints of Emmanuel on Wednesday, September 22. Kickoff is expected at 7:00 p.m. under the lights of Roberto Clemente Field.

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