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Wildcats Slip Past Lady Pioneers
Welsh, Redmond Connect in Second Half

While it wasn’t pretty, the final score was all that mattered for the New Jersey Wildcats tonight as they fended off a pesky Western Mass Lady Pioneers team with a 2-0 victory at Mercer County Community College. Christie Welsh and Elisabeth Redmond accounted for second-half goals as the Wildcats kept their fans on the edge of their seats with a number of entertaining near misses.

New Jersey held a 23-4 advantage in shots and Karina LeBlanc needed just one save to record the shutout. With the win, the Wildcats extended their regular season winning streak to 21 games while running their home winning streak to 18 games. Western Mass goalkeeper Megan Jessee posted seven saves including a number of difficult stops.

Redmond and O'Reilly celebrate the second goal. (Robyn McNeil)

Much like the first meeting between the teams in Ludlow, MA, the Wildcats had trouble breaking through the offside trap of the Lady Pioneers. In the first game, the Wildcats registered eight offside calls before the intermission alone and this game was much of the same with five offside calls going against the Wildcats in the first half.

Before the opening goal by Welsh, the best the Wildcats could do was three cracks off the crossbar. Kacey White did it first on a 20-yard rip in the 40th minute and Welsh followed two minutes later when her lob off a feed from Heather O’Reilly caromed off the bar as well. Welsh completed the trifecta just 2:36 into the second half after a give-and-go with Cat Reddick put her in behind but Jessee touched the ball off the bar.

Welsh finally broke the ice in the 57th minute thanks to a heads-up play by White, who stepped up to intercept a pass while putting Welsh behind the defense on her first touch. Welsh carried the ball into the box before slipping a shot under a charging Jessee for the 1-0 lead.

Jessee came up with two big stops to keep the game close as she stopped second-half substitute Tobin Heath in the 68th minute and Welsh again in the 74th minute. O’Reilly had a golden opportunity to double the score in the 81st minute, but Lady Pioneers defender Katherine Radchuck cleared her long lob off the line at the last second.

Welsh squandered a chance in the 84th minute when she tucked a shot past a wide open goal and O’Reilly was foiled again by Jessee in stoppage time before Redmond finally broke through. O’Reilly carried the ball along the end line on the left before sliding a pass back to Redmond and the second-half substitute buried an eight yard shot for her first career goal in her season debut.