Roadrunner Women's Soccer Coach Stephen Hart said it best -- RCSJ's dramatic 4-3 triumph over visiting Ocean County College was a tale of two halves.

With two of the nation's top Division III clubs battling it out in front of a large crowd, it was the Vikings who dominated early and appeared ready to claim victory. Ocean CC used speed, skillful ball handling, and hard work to roll out to a 2-0 halftime lead and later a 3-0 lead well into the second half.,

But then it all changed -- in what felt like a heartbeat. With just under 20 minutes remaining, Kacey Marshall scored the first two goals, followed quickly by a pair of scores from Isabella Moore, the team's top offensive threat through out the season. Suddenly, with 10 minutes remaining the Runners wiped out a huge deficit and were clinging to a 4-3 lead. The defense then slammed the door and hung on for the key Garden State Athletic Conference triumph.

"I said to the ladies at halftime, it looks like Ocean did their homework and they look like the better team," said Hart, a second-year coach. "But we stressed that if you want to get back into this, you need to make this game a dogfight. Once Kacey (Marshall) got those first two goals, the team finally met the challenge -- they knew they were in a battle they could win.

"This was truly a tale of two halves."

The Runners, No. 7 in the NJCAA DIII National Rankings, improved their overall record to 6-2-1 while the No. 6 Vikings suffered their first loss of the season. The win also helped Hart and his RCSJ squad avenge a gut-wrenching loss to Ocean in last season's Region 19 championship game.

"They have a very good program and they really took it to us at times today, so yes, this win fells very good," said Hart. "We're pretty sure we will see them again in the Region 19 playoffs, so this rivalry is not over."

Next up for the Runners will be a road match at Bergen CCC Saturday afternoon.