Union, N.J. (11/13/13) – Rookie Kayla Birth netted the first two goals of her collegiate career in helping the Kean University women's soccer team to a 5-0 blanking of SUNY College at Old Westbury in the opening round of the ECAC Metro Tournament.
Birth (pictured left) finished the afternoon with five points as she also tallied an assist on the final goal of the day as Kean improved to 10-6-3, advancing to the semifinals on Saturday where they will take on #2 Mt. St. Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y.
Junior Caitlin Thomas stopped nine shots for the Panthers, who close out the season with a 13-9 record.
The Cougars scratched across the first half's only goal as sophomore Angie Lopez used a breakaway pass from senior Carla Vitola that beat the keeper low for a 1-0 lead. Kean held a dominating 17-4 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes.
Kean broke the game open midway through the second half as junior Carly Snyder tallied her third goal of the season with a shot from the box off a pass from senior Shelby Wallace. Birth then scored her first of back-to-back goals in the 78th minute, putting the game out of reach.
In all, the Cougars held a dominating 35-5 tally in shots on the day.
For Kean, keeper KC Nunez stopped five shots in just over 73 minutes of action. Fellow classmate Samantha Blair closed out the match to preserve the shutout.
