JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Trailing 1-0, William Paterson University countered by scoring five goals on 13 first-half shots to defeat New Jersey City University, 6-1, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's soccer game on September 30 at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
 
Sophomore midfielder Kristen Bowe (Rockaway, N.J.) produced her second career hat trick and netted her second, third and fourth goals of the season to lift the Pioneers to .500 in the league (6-4-0, 2-2-0 NJAC). The Gothic Knights fell to 2-8-0 (0-4-0 NJAC).
 
In a matchup of the 2016 NJAC co-Rookies of the Year, WP sophomore forward Marisa Adelman (Branchburg, N.J.) and NJCU sophomore center midfielder Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial), both players struck in the first half—Vargas first to give NJCU a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute, then Adelman twice as WP countered to grab a 3-1 advantage before the Pioneers added two goals in a span of 1:11 in the final three minutes of the half.
 
Overall, WP outshot NJCU, 22-15. Adelman, who had five points to increase her total to 22 on the season, collected 11 of the 22 shots with six on frame.
 
Vargas scored a highlight-reel goal—her eighth of the season and 21st of her career—off an assist from sophomore forward Liliana Ventura (West New York, NJ/Memorial) and she narrowly missed two other athletic opportunities. Vargas had six shots for NJCU (three on goal).
 
Adelman and Bowe each produced two goals and one assist in the first half. Adelman netted her ninth and 10th goals of the season in the 22nd and 28th minutes after Bowe tied it early in the 17th minute. Bowe added her second of the game and third of the year in the 43rd minute. She completed the hat trick and made it 6-1 in the 57th minute.
 
Sophomore midfielder Lorraine Moffitt (Paramus, N.J.) scored a penalty kick with 1:21 left in the first half to add to the lead. Freshman midfielder Danielle Dachowski (Succasunna, N.J.) added a second-half assist (second of the season).
 
Junior goalkeeper Dominique Jackson (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) made nine saves for NJCU. Senior Angela Sandelli (Landing, N.J.) stopped seven shots for the Pioneers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
NJCU jumped ahead 1-0, 11:54 into the game. Ventura delivered a thru ball up the middle of the field from the circle onto the feet of Vargas. Sandelli came out to challenge but Vargas sidestepped her outside the 18, dribbled into the box, beat two defenders trying to chase her down, and drilled a shot into the upper middle of the net.
 
WP began pressuring. In the 14th minute, Adelman's shot hit the upper middle of the crossbar and caromed out. However, the Pioneers tied it at the 16:01 mark. Bowe swiped the ball on the far left wing, dribbled in and hit a shot into the far right side netting.
 
More pressure came in the 19th minute as Adelman dribbled down the field and fed senior mid Lauren McHugh (Cinnaminson, N.J.) for a shot on goal, but Jackson made the grab. WPU nearly went ahead in the 20th minute when Jackson came out to try to clear a breakaway; Adelman missed far wide left.
 
However, WP would move in front at the 21:40 mark. Bowe sent a long pass up the left side of the field to Adelman, who eluded one defender on the endline, cut back and hit a shot from the far left wing over Jackson into the upper right side.
 
With 17:49 remaining, WP made it 3-1. Adelman won a loose ball between two NJCU defenders, sprinted downfield and when Jackson could not get to the ball in time, dribbled left and shot towards the empty net. An NJCU defender got a piece of the strike, trying to clear the ball off the line, but the momentum carried it into the goal.
 
Vargas nearly got a goal back with 10 minutes left in the first half. Freshman back Natalie Becker (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) sent a ball downfield. Vargas beat Sandelli to the ball at the top of the box and sidestepped her, but on a tough angle on the left wing missed a left-footed shot inches wide of the right post. A minute later, Vargas had another 1-on-1 breakaway attempt on the right side of the box but was chased down at the last moment by senior back Jacquelin Nelson (Boonton, N.J.). With three minutes left in the half, Adelman slipped a thru ball to Bowe and a great scoring chance but it was denied.
 
Moments later, the Pioneers scored the first of two goals to put the game away. With 2:32 left, NJCU's defense gave the ball away 10 yards from the left endline. Adelman again slipped a ball to Bowe in the box, scoring into the right side. After an NJCU foul and yellow card that denied a goal-scoring opportunity on a breakaway at the top of the box with 1:21 left, Moffitt was award a penalty kick, finishing her third goal of the season into the upper right corner.
 
Adelman kept pushing and nearly struck again in the 49th minute on a half-field breakaway, narrowly missing inches wide of the right post from the near left wing. Seconds later, another long ball down field to Vargas nearly led to a goal. Vargas again sidestepped the keeper and dribbled onto the near right wing. Her first shot was blocked by Nelson. Vargas' attempt at the rebound was grabbed on the goal line by Sandelli coming back at the last second to steal a goal.
 
In the 56th minute, Bowe slid a pass from the middle of the field to Adelman, who was a stride faster than the NJCU defense and with Jackson challenging, her shot ricocheted off the crossbar and was covered in the box.
 
Late in the 57th minute, WP added a sixth goal as Dachowski fed Bowe for a shot from 30 yards out that was over Jackson's head, glanced off the underside of the crossbar, bounced off the back of the retreating keeper and into the goal with 33:06 left. Neither side had a major scoring threat in the final 30 minutes.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 22nd meeting; William Paterson leads, 19-2-1,
• Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial) has scored eight of NJCU's nine goals on the season through 10 games.
• It was the second time this year NJCU had a 1-0 lead at home against an NJAC team (Rowan, September 16).
• Kristen Bowe's previous hat trick came in her NCAA debut on September 2, 2016 against Medgar Evers.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU will be idle for a week before it plays the third game of a four-game homestand on Saturday, October 7 against Rutgers University-Camden. The Scarlet Raptors lead the all-time series, 13-4, although NJCU won last year's meeting, 3-2 in double overtime on October 8, 2016 in Camden, N.J. It will be the 18th meeting between the clubs.

 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on NJCU women's soccer and #NJCUWSOC, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. Preferred hashtags are GothicGameDay and GothicFamily.