Women's Soccer Celebrates Seniors, Alums With 4-1 Win

Four different goal scorers on Saturday

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/07/2024) — The Monmouth College women's soccer began a busy day on campus with a resounding 4-1 win over Rockford University on Saturday. The Scots (1-2-1) controlled the game from the onset and celebrated both Senior Day and Alumni Day with a boisterous crowd

"It was so great to be able to recognize our seniors today with such an emphatic win," said head coach Lucas Henderson. "I'm so proud of our seniors Flo, Lynn and Anna who all made big contributions today and I'm also proud of our two managers and former players Kelsey and Lea for their dedication and support."

After a couple early opportunities, the Scots got on the board in the 13th minute. Danielle Beach (Geneseo, Illinois) scored her second goal of the season off a crisp pass from freshman Taylor Freeman (Washington, Illinois). Just four minutes later, Nylea Cruz (Silvis, Illinois) put in a rebound of her original shot for a 2-0 lead and her first goal as a collegiate player. In the final minutes before half, Mariah Hobson (Princeton, Illinois) took a pass from Jaden Stockton (Springfield, Illinois) and blasted a shot from distance into the top-right corner for her first career goal.

Anna Caster (Greenfield, Illinois) only had to make one save in the first half as the Scots led 3-0. Allison Griffin (Geneseo, Illinois) scored her second goal of the season off a pass from Xruz to put Monmouth up 4-0 in the 51st minute. Rockford ended the shutout bid in the 82nd minute and Caster finished with three saves.

""Being able to honor and thank our alums was great today," said Henderson. "Their loud support got us going and it was great to celebrate 30 years of Monmouth women's soccer."

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Caster and Avery Parks (Bloomington, Illinois) played all 90 minutes ... Monmouth outshot Rockford 24-9 and shots on goal were 12-4 ... Hobson scored her first Monmouth goal after missing last year with an injury ...Thirteen Scots took at least one shot on Saturday and eight had at least one shot on goal ... Cruz had a goal and an assist ...Monmouth is 8-0 all-time against Rockford including a 4-0 win last season ... The Scots are back at home on Tuesday with a 5 p.m. kickoff against Eureka in a game that was originally scheduled to be a road game.