Following a tie against Stevens on Wednesday, Sept. 25, Rowan women’s soccer regained their momentum in the form of their first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) win of the season against the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders on Saturday, Sept. 28 by a final score of 3-0.

It did not take long for the Profs to get on the board. After a foul from defensive back Seoane Oaxaca, midfielder Lianna SanFelice lined up for a free kick outside the 18-yard box and to the center-right of the goal with a wall of defenders in front of her. SanFelice then laced the ball over all of their heads and curved it to the left as it got away from the outstretched reach of goalie Angela Amaya to put Rowan up 1-0.

This was a moment SanFelice was prepared for.

“After practice, Calista [Burke] and I stayed and we worked on the free kicks,” SanFelice said. “We were trying to figure out the walls and everything. I was gonna go far post. The goalie gave me a gap, and I took it, and it went in.”

This was SanFelice’s first goal of the season.

“It definitely helps build confidence,” SanFelice said. “It has been tough. I have been hitting a bunch of crossbars—I literally hit one today. But it has been good, and it is about the wins.”

SanFelice leads the team with four assists on the season and has been setting her teammates up for success despite not quite getting the ball into the back of the net.

“I don’t really care who scores,” Head Coach, Scott Leacott said. “It’s good that she got on the board. She’s had a lot of shots this season. Maybe this will give her confidence going forward. It’s a team game. She has set up goals on a platter for others on the team to score. She is a playmaker, and she can score goals as well.”

Sara Weideman extended the Profs’ lead just two minutes after SanFelice’s goal off an assist from fellow midfielder Olivia Falicki, who was filling in for team captain Ava Morales.

“[Falicki] made an awesome play and saw me out of the corner of her eye,” Weideman said. “She gave me a little flick pass. I looked up, saw some space in front of me, and let it fly.”

Weideman is the third-leading goal scorer on the team with four, with all of them being scored in three of her last four games.

“My confidence has been increasing the more games we’ve played,” Weideman said. “I have also been getting more time and building better connections with these girls.”

Her role on the team has only grown, which is a sign of confidence from her coach.

“She loves playing the game,” Leacott said. “She gives us everything she’s got. She also has a great shot. We would like her to actually do a little bit more shooting, but she is an unselfish player. Every shot she’s had this year has been dangerous.”

The third goal of the game was a penalty kick scored by Simone Pacetti, which was the Profs’ fifth penalty kick taken all season and the first one taken by someone other than Mackenzie Clement.

“She is the first one to step up with confidence; that is who you want shooting penalty kicks,” Leacott said. “As soon as she got the ball, I was like, ‘Alright Simone, take it.’ It’s just a confidence thing.”

That confidence has allowed Pacetti to thrive in her role as the first substitute to come into the game, as she is the team’s fourth-leading goal scorer this season.

Rowan’s defense got back on the right foot by shutting out Rutgers-Newark after they struggled in their last two games. Although his team shut down the NJAC’s leading goal scorer Leila Ettayebi, Leacott would still like to see some improvements.

“We did back off a little bit in the second half,” Leacott said. “We made an adjustment. We did not feel they were overly dangerous. We cannot back off; we want to be in their face. I felt like we did that for the majority of the game.”

After giving up two or more goals in back-to-back games, Burke got tested early and made a great save on the near-side post, which was the starting point of her 27th career shutout as a Prof.

With this win, Rowan remains undefeated in overall play. They also join Rutgers-Camden and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) as the only teams with wins inside the NJAC. The Profs only have NJAC games remaining on their schedule, and the battle with TCNJ for the No. 1 seed will be competitive.

“Our ultimate goal is to win the No. 1 seed,” Leacott said. “If you do not win the first one, that is extremely difficult. We only have these NJAC games left. They are all gonna be like this; it is gonna be physical.

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