JERSEY CITY, NJ - Monmouth University sophomore Kelly Wieczerzak (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) posted the program's first hat trick since 2012 to help lead the Hawks to an 8-1 victory at Saint Peter's in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Wednesday afternoon.

 

With the victory, the Hawks improve to 10-2-2 overall, increasing the program's streak of campaigns with a double-digit win total to 10 straight seasons. Monmouth improves to 6-1 in the league.

 

"It was a complete effort today and to have a box score with several different names that contributed to the result is a credit to our team," stated Krissy Turner, who earned her 200th career victory as the Monmouth head coach. Turner, who started at Monmouth in 1998, now has a 200-107-32 record with the Hawks.

 

The Hawks, who scored in the opening 20 minutes of a match for the ninth time this year, opened the scoring in the 17th minute when junior Alexis McTamney (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown Regional) notched her eighth of the season for the 1-0 lead. Monmouth pushed its lead to 2-0 in the 21st minute when junior Erica Murphy (Millstone Township, NJ/Pennington Prep) fed classmate Rachael Ivanicki (Marlboro, NJ/Colts Neck) for her sixth of the year.

 

Monmouth grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the 23rd minute when Murphy notched her team-high 12th of the campaign off a feed from McTamney, who now has 21 points on the year and 65 in her career in the Blue & White.

 

Ivanicki scored her second of the game off an assist from sophomore Rachelle Ross (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) in the 30th minute, before Wieczerzak tallied her first career goal on a penalty kick she earned in the 40th minute. Wieczerzak, who scored three straight goals for the Hawks, recorded her second in the 42nd minute to give MU a 6-0 edge at the intermission.

 

Wieczerzak registered her third in the 61st minute off a feed from freshman Alli DeLuca (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central), who inked her first career point for the Hawks. Ross tallied an unassisted goal in the 62nd minute to put Monmouth ahead 8-0.

 

The Peacocks' Barbara Paiva scored her team-leading sixth goal of the year in the 88th minute to get Saint Peter's on the board, against back-up goalkeeper Carlie Till (Butler, NJ/Montclair Kimberly Academy).

 

Monmouth, which registered its highest goal output of the season, outshot Saint Peter's 25-5 and held a 7-0 edge in corner kick opportunities. Junior Sydney Lavan (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) played the first 45 minutes for the Hawks, while Till, making her first career appearance, made one save for MU in the second half.

 

Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, October 17 when the Hawks host Fairfield University on Hesse Field on Senior Night at 7:00 p.m. During the Senior Night ceremonies, the program will honor this year's senior class of Danielle Axelrod, Brianne Boyle, Kristen Brett, Monique Goncalves, Colleen Howard and Cara Poole.

 

@MUWSoccer -- #FlyHawks