Women's College Soccer
Rider University 5, Saint Peter's College 0
LAWRENCEVILLE--Giving isn't always better than receiving after all. Freshman Kara Perkoski, who ranked second in the conference in assists, scored her first two collegiate goals to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Saint Peter's Friday. “It was nice to have a goal and have someone else assist me this time,” Perkoski said.
“Kara has been knocking on the door all season,” said Rider head coach Kevin Long. “She's gotten some points with assists (four) this year and has been playing well, she just hadn't found the back of the net until today. We've been telling her it's going to come, and sure enough, today was a breakout day for her.”
“I was hoping it would just be a matter of time,” Perkoski said, “that eventually I would get one. I don't mind assisting, as long as we win.”
Perkoski (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) took a pass from freshman Lauren Musumeci (Annandale, N.J./North Hunterdon) and hooked a shot just inside the near post to give Rider (4-3-3, 1-0 MAAC) a 1-0 lead just 1:07 into the game. “It felt good to get a goal and get things started today,” Perkoski said. “ ?Moose' played me the ball down in the corner, I cut back and took a shot that hit off the post, hit the back of the goalie and went in. At first I didn't know it was a goal. I was just looking around and when the ref stopped the clock I said ?okay, I guess it's a goal.' It was awkward. I'll remember my first college goal as an awkward one.”
Perkoski scored again on a pass from Musumeci after a long pass from junior Lauren Mahar (Barnegat, N.J./Colonia) to give Rider a 2-0 lead just 15 minutes into the game. “It was a great ball in from Lauren Mahar to Moose's head and she flicked in on to me and I just slotted it past the keeper,” Perkoski said. “It was a great play on the two Lauren's part.”
“She (Perkoski) has the ability to assist at any point in the game but now she's proven she can score goals,” Long said. “That's what we knew of her.”
Not to be out-done by the rookies, the Rider junior class tacked on the final three goals. Junior Kayla Devlin (Clifton, N.J./Clifton), junior Michelle Matricardi (Abington, Pa./Abington) and Mahar also added goals, with a pair of seniors, Michele Ripoll (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) and Amy Vinarsky (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley), collecting assists.
“We got everybody in today and saw that we are very deep,” Long said. “We have competition at every position every day and that was important for our players to see today. We have players ready to step in when their number is called.”
Rider out-shot SPC (1-8, 0-1 MAAC) 29-5. “We clearly controlled the play from start to finish, which was good,” Long said. “I like to see our shots up. We've been saying it every game, that we need more shots. Today we got more shots and we got more goals. They go hand in hand.”
Rider freshman goalkeeper Alex Post (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) made two saves. Freshman Jamie Fetzer (New Milford, N.J./New Milford) made her collegiate debut, playing the final 15 minutes of the game in the Rider net.
Rider is now 9-3 against Saint Peter's since the series began in 1997, with Rider winning 1-0 last year in Jersey City. The Peahens won 2-1 in overtime in Lawrenceville in 2005.
“I thought the game went well,” Long said. “We scored some really good goals and there were some good assists. I was real proud and happy for the team today. We took this as the start of a new season. We want to be one of the elite teams, so this was step one.”
Step two is Sunday, when Rider hosts Manhattan in a 1pm MAAC game. “I know it is going to be a tougher game but I thing we can pull through,” Perkoski said. “We've been pretty even with Manhattan the last few years so Sunday will be a good measure of where we are this year,” Long said. “It should be a great battle.”
At half time Sunday Rider will celebrate 10 years of women's varsity soccer. “It's been 10 years and I'm happy to be a part of it,” Perkoski said.
Now that she can receive as well as give.
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