Women's Soccer Back on Track With 4-0 Defeat of Lycoming

(box score) / (video highlights)

Senior forward Karen Thomas (Mullica Hill, NJ) netted her second career hat trick as Widener prevailed, 4-0, over Commonwealth Conference foe Lycoming at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium.

Widener (12-1-1, 2-1 CC) suffered its first loss Tuesday to Stevenson, but returned with a vengeance Friday against Lycoming. The Pride shot early and often and by game's end they managed 24 shots to their opponent's one.

In the 23rd minute, Thomas registered her first goal when she dribbled in from the left side of the field, brought the ball to her right foot and fired a shot from just outside the box that snuck past goalkeeper Caitlin Dougherty.

Two and half minutes later Thomas got her second goal off a pass from senior Kelly Buckley (Villanova, PA) that found Thomas eight yards away from the goal. Thomas took a touch and shot the ball into the right side netting to put the Pride up 2-0 going into halftime.

In the 50th minute, the roles were reversed as Thomas found Buckley at the top of the box. Buckley hammered the ball to the opposite side corner and scored her fifth goal of the season. She now leads the conference in assists with nine, and ranks seventh in goals.

In the 59th minute, Thomas got the well deserved hat trick off a pass from, who else, but Buckley. Widener had a break away and Buckley found Thomas cutting down the right side. Thomas, the reigning conference and ECAC Player of the Week, nailed the ball into the left bottom corner to score her sixth goal in her last four games.

It is the 15th hat trick in school history and the second for Thomas, who also did this September 22, 2012 against FDU-Florham. Buckley ended with three assists, becoming the eighth player in school history to accomplish this.

Thomas now leads the conference in both goals and points (33), and ranks fifth in school history with 14 goals in a season (five away from the record of 19 set back in 1997).

Senior goaltender Valarie Perretti (Clayton, NJ), the reigning ECAC and conference Goalkeeper of the Week, received her ninth shutout of the season to break the Widener record set back in 2008 by Alee Gunter.

Freshmen Erica McDonough and Brittany Allison (Coatesville, PA) were credited with two shots each, and junior Jenna Pedrick (Sicklerville, NJ) managed six shots.

Widener will next travel to Hood on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.

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