RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Junior forward Caroline Morse scored her third game winning goal of the season in the 57th minute to lead the Manhattan women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Wagner (1-5) on Sunday in Riverdale. Lady Jaspers' senior Laura Thurston tagged on an insurance goal in the 87th minute to cap Manhattan's (4-4) second half scoring flurry.
"This was a nice win for us," stated Lady Jaspers' fifth year head coach Sean Driscoll. "We rebounded well from a disappointing result on Friday. We showed enthusiasm in the second half and really played to our strengths."
Morse broke a scoreless tie early in the second half when she buried a shot into the top right corner of the net off a set piece. The goal developed when the Lady Jaspers' were awarded a free kick just outside the box after Morse was dragged to the ground by the Wagner defense. Junior midfielder Marissa Greco pushed the ball back to Morse after the restart, who then sent one past Seahawks' goalkeeper Samantha Schueschner for her team leading sixth goal of the year.
Schuescher made nine saves in the contest in an attempt to weather the Lady Jaspers' offensive storm which featured a 24-7 shot advantage. At the opposite end of the field, Manhattan goalie Kara Davis recorded the second complete game shutout of her collegiate career.
Just over 30 minutes after the Lady Jaspers' first strike, Morse teamed up with junior midfielder Kristin Spiros to assist Thurston's goal, the first of her career. Morse launched a corner kick into the center of the box to Spiros, who directed the ball to Thurston, who then placed a header into the left corner of the net. The assist was Morse's 15th point of the year and Spiros's first.
Manhattan managed to keep Wagner scoreless throughout the match thanks in part to a strong defensive effort by senior back Jill Beauchamp, who may have stopped the Seahawks' best scoring opportunity of the day. In the 41st minute, Beauchamp made a great sliding tackle on forward Ariane Ackerman who nearly slipped beyond the defense for an open look on goal. Beauchamp was joined by Kara Bucci, Amanda Fishcer and Devon Lutz who saw most of the minutes in the back and limited Wagner to just two second half shots.
The Lady Jaspers open MAAC play on Friday when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for a showdown with Marist. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.