Jackson Lifts Blue Jays Over Falcons In Overtime Thriller, 3-2

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Sophomore forward Riley Jackson (Newington, Conn.) gathered a beautiful through ball from classmate Marisa Brough (Cheshire, Conn.) and found the bottom left corner of the goal to lift the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's soccer team over intrastate and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Albertus Magnus College (AMC), 3-2, in overtime at the USJ Soccer Field Tuesday afternoon.

Brough stole the ball from an Albertus Magnus defender, drove middle, and slipped a nice touch pass into the penalty area where Jackson was waiting unguarded. Jackson took a touch and then fired into the corner of the net with her right foot to send the boisterous USJ fans into a frenzy. The game-winning goal marked the first career goal for Jackson.

This one was a tale of two halves as the Blue Jays came out clicking on all cylinders in the first half and netted a pair of goals to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Junior Maxine Muscatello (Berlin, Conn.) and graduate senior Emily Remicio (West Hartford, Conn.) had the connection going early. Remicio played a long ball to a charging Muscatello who was able to finish with her left foot past the AMC netminder in the sixth minute. Then it was Muscatello's turn to find Remicio who drilled a perfect shot into the side netting to put the hosts up 2-0 at the 31:42 mark of the first stanza.

The Falcons regrouped at halftime though and battled back with a pair of second-half goals scored by their senior forward Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.). It was Raposo's sixth and seventh markers of the season, which leads the team for Albertus Magnus and is tied for sixth-best in the GNAC. That set the table for Jackson's game-winning goal in an overtime thriller in West Hartford Tuesday afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 3, Albertus Magnus 2 (F/OT)
Records: USJ 8-2-1 (5-2-1 GNAC), AMC 7-5-0 (5-4-0 GNAC)
Location: USJ Soccer Field | West Hartford, Conn.

PLAYER QUOTE [Riley Jackson] "We talk a lot about picking a pocket when shooting at practice so I was just thinking about that and focusing on that and just get it on goal. Today was a great team effort and we worked through what was more than a full game and got the job done."

COACH QUOTE [Jenna Kalwa] "We came out clicking really well in the first half. We had a quality scouting report, understood our jobs and were able to perform them today...playing soccer and playing out of tough situations and not doing anything silly. Being down a key player led to some second-half struggles. We made some formation changes and trusted some new people in new roles and they really stepped up...We were able to keep it tied throughout the end of the second half and then found the will to win in overtime."

GAME NOTES

• Muscatello now has three goals and three assists on the season for a team-high nine points.
• Back-to-back games the Blue Jays have scored three goals. They now have a total of 18 on the year.
• First game this season USJ has allowed more than one goal in.
• The Blue Jays held a slight edge in shots, 18-16, and corner kicks, 4-1.

NUMBER TO KNOW

1 – The game-winning goal by Jackson in the 96th minute marked her first career goal in a USJ uniform.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

AMC – Sophomore Nicole Pracon (Derby, Conn.) made her first start of the season in goal for Albertus Magnus, allowing three goals and taking the loss (0-1-0) in 95:09 of work. She made four saves.

USJ – Sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Schaffner (Waterbury, Conn.) picked up another win between the pipes for the Blue Jays to improve to 7-2-1 on the season. She also made four saves in 95-plus minutes of action.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays are back on the pitch Friday night under the lights at the USJ Soccer Field for Senior Night versus the visiting Raiders of Rivier University. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. following the Senior Night ceremony.

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