SELDEN, N.Y. — The Kean University Jersey City women's soccer team made history Sunday afternoon, earning a thrilling 4-3 victory over Suffolk County Community College in its first-ever United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) contest.
The Cougars (1-0) wasted little time making their mark in their inaugural USCAA appearance. Beatriz Oliveira Dos Santos opened the scoring in the fifth minute, giving Kean Jersey City an early 1-0 advantage.
Gabriella Cardona doubled the lead in the 13th minute, putting the Cougars in control early. Kean Jersey City carried its 2-0 advantage into halftime before Oliveira Dos Santos struck again 12 minutes after the break, this time finishing off a pass from India Berman to push the lead to 3-0.
Suffolk County refused to go quietly, however, mounting a furious comeback with three goals in a span of 20 minutes to pull even at 3-3 in the 75th minute.
Just one minute after the Sharks had completed their comeback, Cardona found the back of the net for the second time on the afternoon, completing her brace and restoring Kean Jersey City's lead at 4-3.
The Cougars held on over the final minutes to secure the historic victory, marking the program's first win of the season and, more importantly, its first-ever USCAA victory.
Cardona finished with two goals, while Oliveira Dos Santos also recorded a pair of tallies in the historic victory. Somaia Roman also added an assist in the win.
FROM HEAD COACH ANTHONY TUESTA
"I'm incredibly proud of this group and the way they fought through adversity to secure our program's history first win. Today was a good day for Kean Jersey City women's soccer."
Up Next:
The Cougars return to action on Tuesday, September 1 when they travel to Annandale-on-Hudson, NY to take on Bard College at 7:00 pm.
