FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Catholic women's soccer won its fourth straight game as it concluded its non-conference schedule with a 2-0 victory at Mary Washington on Tuesday afternoon.
Ava Gregorio scored and dished out an assist, contributing to both goals as the Catholic women reach 10 wins for the first time since 2018.
Casey Sommers' squad proved to be opportunistic on Tuesday, scoring on two of its three shots on target. Sophomore goalkeeper
Ava Rieger made a season-high seven saves in the defensive effort to preserve the team's 10th clean sheet this season.
Catholic took the lead in the 10th minute as Gregorio scored the match's first goal on a smartly placed run into the middle of the box.
Lauren Cerda played a deflection off a Mary Washington player to earn a corner for the Cardinals before quickly darting over to play it short to
Jordan Siok. Siok played a low cross in to
Isabel Doherty who pushed it in front of net where Gregorio was waiting to knock it home. The goal is Gregorio's fourth of the season, making her the third Cardinal with four or more goals in 2023. Doherty tied Cerda for the team lead with three assists on the year.
Early on in the second half, a beautiful combination led to Doherty getting on the score sheet for the Cardinals. After a misplay near midfield, Gregorio took possession with space to move up the near wing. Deft touch allowed her to continue past another UMW defender and into space to send a cross in towards the box. Her cross found the right foot a wide-open
Peyton Coron who deflected the ball over to Doherty who put the ball in the low left corner of the net, finishing off a strong run with her second goal of the season.
UMW created a handful of opportunities, but Rieger was up to the task, making a pair of first-half saves before being forced into action in the second half, turning away five more shots. Rieger has now posted 10 career clean sheets after logging her seventh of the season in just 12 starts. The sophomore recently surpassed 100 career saves.
Tuesday marks the 11th game this season in which Catholic has scored two or more goals. The Cardinals are outscoring their opponents 33-14 on the season, averaging just under two goals per game (1.94). The 33 goals are Catholic's most since scoring 44 in 2017.
Catholic finishes up the regular-season on Saturday afternoon in Huntingdon, Pa. as they take on Juniata at 3:30 p.m.
