KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 1, 2022) – The USMMA women's soccer team won its first ever game on Thursday night, 7-0, over Five Towns College in front of a raucous crowd at Bartoszek Field! The victory was also the first in the collegiate coaching career of head coach Carlos Mendes.
 
Prior to the game, the Mariners and the Academy accepted a very generous gift to the women's soccer program from the Alumni Association and Foundation, who was represented on the field by President and CEO Jim Tobin '77.
 
Game Links

• Box Score
• Photo Gallery

 
After a flurry of early chances, freshman Emma Cox (Huntingtown, Md.) tallied the program's first marker in the 12th minute off a great feed from midfield by classmate Marina Ronzoni (Riverhead, N.Y.). The Mariners kept the pressure on and scored two more times, both off the foot of freshman Morgan Mitchell (Amory, Miss.), with senior captain Cassidy Jester (Rochester, N.Y.) assisting on both of them.
 
In the 26th minute, sophomore Natalie Colpoys (Rochester, N.Y.) scored the first of her back-to-back tallies, as she would then find the twine again just over five minutes later. Sophomore Natalia Gallardo (El Paso, Texas) assisted on the first of Colpoy's, while Cox had the helper on her second.
 
Jester joined in on the scoring action in the 36th minute to give the Mariners a 6-0 lead that they took into the halftime break.
 
The night ended the same way it began, with Cox burying her second of the night in the 84th minute. Aside from the great offensive effort, the Mariners' defensive unit had a strong night as well, as they didn't allow Five Towns any sustained pressure, which resulted in a 29-0 advantage for Merchant Marine in total shots. The only good chance the Sound got was in the second half, but when the ball got past USMMA sophomore keeper Margaret Ripperger (McKinney, Texas) on a cross from the far side, sophomore defender Jasper Schineller (Tempe, Ariz.) was right there to clear it out of harm's way.
 
Ripperger faced no shots on the goal in the shutout victory, the first blank sheet of her career in her very first game.
 
The Mariners are back in action on Saturday evening, Sept. 3, when they play host to Alverno College. That game will begin at 5 p.m. at Tomb Field. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Women's Soccer Schedule Page.
 
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