HUNTINGDON, Pa. — It was a successful final day of the regular season for the Catholic University women's soccer team on Saturday as Casey Sommers' side defeated Juniata to hop Drew and claim a first-round bye in the upcoming Landmark Conference Tournament.
Another day, another Jordan Siok goal. The senior scored twice to push her season total to 15 and match Scranton's Niamh Healy at the top of the Landmark's goal-scoring charts.
It didn't take long for the Cardinals to breach the Juniata defense, combining for a brilliant team goal.
It took Catholic just over 10 seconds to go from a Emily Harkins throw-in in its defensive half to celebrating a Siok goal. Peyton Coron received the throw, laying it off to Sara Placide who found Isabel Doherty. The sophomore picked out a clever one-time ball to set Ava Gregorio free down the right. She made no mistake, serving an inch-perfect ball just over a defender right across the face of goal where Siok arrived to finish. None of the five players used more than two touches in the slick build-up.
The match remained finely poised at 1-0 for over an hour of game time despite Catholic's dominance. The Cardinals outshot the Eagles 16-2 but it took until the 74th minute for Sommers' side to double its advantage.
This time it was all Siok's own work. The shifty senior beat a defender on the left and pranced into the penalty area before she was chopped down for a penalty kick. She made no mistake, smashing home to the goalkeeper's right to put the match beyond any doubt.
The brace marks Siok's fourth of the season and fifth mult-goal game as also netted the first hat trick of her career during conference play. She has scored a staggering 11 goals in her last season seven matches, blanking just once in the stretch.
The Cardinals end the regular season on a run of five-straight victory without conceding a goal. Catholic has outscored opponents 13-0 over those five matches and has now kept 11 total clean sheets on the campaign.
Catholic capitalized on the victory, hoping Drew in the conference standings on the final day. The Rangers fell to Susquehanna, who needed a result to solidify its position in the tournament, by a score of 2-0.
The Cardinals will now await the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal that features a rematch of today's meaningful Drew, Susquehanna match-up. Catholic will host the winner of the match on Thursday at a time soon to be set.
Thursday will mark the first time since 2015 the Cardinals host a postseason contest and the first time ever that Carlini Field will play host to a women's soccer postseason affair. Catholic will look to emulate that 2015 campaign as that season represents the Landmark Conference Title for the Catholic Women's Soccer program.
