Moravian Remains Unbeaten with 1-0 Shutout of Albright

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women’s soccer team scored a goal in the first half and made the tally stand up for a 1-0 shutout over visiting Albright College in non-conference action Tuesday evening on John Makuvek Field.

Jordan Luciano '19 protects the ball against an Albright College defender.
Jordan Luciano '19 protects the ball against an Albright College defender.
September 19, 2017

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's soccer team scored a goal in the first half and made the tally stand up for a 1-0 shutout over visiting Albright College in non-conference action Tuesday evening on John Makuvek Field.

The Hounds are now 6-0-1 on the season and have not allowed a goal in 562 minutes of action this fall. The last time Moravian was 6-0-1 to start a campaign was in 1996 when the squad tied the opening match of the year, 1-1, before running off nine consecutive shutouts to improve to 9-0-1. The 1996 team finished the year at 14-2-2.

"I thought the girls managed the game well and got another solid win," stated Head Coach Jeff Ykoruk. "We left some goals off the scoreboard but the players again just keep finding ways to get it done."

The Greyhounds would net what ended up as the only goal of the match in the 30th minute as junior forward Jordan Luciano netted her second goal of the season with a long shot into the upper right side of the net on a ball touched into open space by junior forward Aimee Manley. Sophomore defender Paige Weiss nearly doubled the lead in the 37th minute when she put a shot on the goal line that was cleared out by an Albright defender.

The Blue and Grey had two great opportunities to score in the second half but rung shots off of the cross bar. Sophomore midfielder Juliana Caranci drilled the pipe in the 51st minute while Weiss knocked a shot off of the cross bar in the 74th minute.

Senior goalie Jessica Lawton made one save while playing the first 45 minutes of the match for her first win of the season, and sophomore keeper Jamie Daly added one save in the second half of action. The Greyhounds finished the match with an 11-5 edge in shots and a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.

"I was excited for our entire team on a night where we had some players down with injuries and some with sickness. Players stepped in and played in different positions and really gave us a lift," noted Ykoruk. "Our defensive effort was tremendous again and we are excited about the weekend ahead."

Moravian is slated to return to action on Saturday, September 23 when the squad begins its 2017 Landmark Conference season at The University of Scranton in a 1:00 p.m. match.