Cipolla's Hat-Trick Lifts #11 Tribunes Over District Rival Harford

ROCHESTER NY - The Monroe Community College (MCC) Women's Soccer Program defeated the Harford Community College (HCC) Fighting Owls 5-2, bringing the team to a record 2-0-1. In what turned out to be an exciting first half, the Fighting Owls scored just one minute and 36 seconds in the game. Rattled by the initial surge by their opponent, the Lady Tribs were doing their best to regain composure and counter the attacks of the confident HCC with attacks of their own. The Tribunes finally broke through and scored an equalizer when Sofia Martins (Lisbon, Portugal) found Sam Cipolla (Rochester, NY) in the 25th minute. Goals continued for the Tribs as the momentum swung in their favor when Mathilda Hellmich (Cologne, Germany) scored an unassisted goal to take their first lead. Despite their best defensive efforts, the Owls were able to equalize with an impressive free-kick goal scored by Summer Mencer in the 37th minute, drawing the game level at 2-2, a score line that would hold to the end of the first half.  

The second half, however, was a different story, with the Lady Tribs scoring three unanswered to put the game away. The scoring began when Saffron Millar (Wanaka, New Zealand) found Sam Cipolla (Rochester, NY) in the 56th minute for Cipolla's second goal and the Tribune's second lead. As the Fighting Owls began to wane from the contest, the Lady Tribs saw their opponent in decline and took advantage. Less than a minute later, the duo of Cipolla and Millar reversed their roles to widen their lead as Millar scored off an assist from Cipolla just 53 seconds later. The Lady Tribs rounded out their scoring and put the game out of reach with a hat-trick from Cipolla, her third goal assisted by Manou Van Gils (Tilburg, Netherlands) in the 64th minute.

An impressive showing by the Tribunes to say the least as the team's scoring woes from the game prior seem to be fixed by having a reliable go-to offensive threat in Sam Cipolla (Rochester, NY), whose three goals in this game proved to be the difference and whose five goals in three games is proof of sustainable reliability and a Tribunes offensive attack that is always a threat to score.

NEXT UP: vs SUNY Niagra | 9/4/24 (5 PM) - John L. DiMarco Field (Monroe CC, Brighton Campus)