A fast start and a quick lead. Follow that up with great defense and plenty of aggressive play.

It all added up to a 3-1 triumph for the Roadrunner women's soccer team over visiting Montgomery Rockville (Maryland) Saturday, the third straight victory for Coach Megan Ruttler's team in the past week alone.

"What a well-rounded effort --this is a nice win for our program over a very good team," said Ruttler. "We started off fast and we maintained our focus the entire way."

The win streak, including victories over Ocean County College and RCSJ Cumberland in the Rowan College Derby, allowed the Runners to improve to 4-5 overall. The Raptors, a Division I program, fell to 6-5 overall.

The Runners received a quick goal from from freshman Alyssa Meglino (Williamstown) in the opening three minutes for a 1-0 lead. Freshman Ave Buonpastore (Highland) then converted a penalty kick and the Runners held a 2-0 halftime lead.

"Getting a quick goal and a fast lead set a great tone," said Meglino. "In the past week everything's really come together -- it was nice to get a win over a good team like Montgomery."

Freshman Leigh Swietanski (West Deptford) then began the second half by scoring her team-leading seventh goal of the season for a 3-0 lead.

The Raptors closed the gap to 3-1 by netting a goal with 28 minutes remaining. But RCSJ goalkeeper Allison Gebhart (Delsea) slammed the door the rest of the way to help preserve the win.

"Defensively we really protected well," said Gebhart. "I had a lot of help from our defense and it made my job easier."

Next up for the Runners is an away game vs. Bucks County Comunity College on October1 in a 3:30 pm start.

Game Preview

The Roadrunner women's soccer team will look to extend their win streak to three games when they host Montgomery Rockville (MD) Saturday at 12 noon in a non-conference contest.

The Runners, coached by Megan Ruttler, blanked RCSJ Cumberland 10-0, in the Rowan College Derby Thursday night at Rowan University. In the previous game, they edged previously unbeaten Ocean County by a 2-1 score.

Kickoff is at 12 noon.

GAME DAY INFORMATION

Montgomery Rockville (MD) at RCSJ-Gloucester
September 28, 2019
12:00 pm

Hosted by:
Rowan College South Jersey (Gloucester)

Coaches:
Megan Ruttler, RCSJ Gloucester
Phillip Nana, Montgomery Rockville

Records:
Roadrunners: 3-5 overall
Montgomery Rockville: 6-4 overall