Sussex Puts 3 Past Essex

The Sussex County Community College women's soccer team defeated NJCAA Region XIX opponent Essex CC by a score of 3-0 on Tuesday.  The Skylanders, now 8-1, took firm control over Region XIX with the victory over last year's champions through goals from Maria Gomes and Giovanna Castro.

It took almost 38 minutes for Sussex to take the lead after numerous chances in the first half.  Winger Maria Gomes slotted one home after being fed through by Giovanna Castro.  Minutes later, Gomes found herself again faced with a great scoring opportunity inside the box, but her shot was blocked by the Essex defender.  Sussex went into halftime up by a goal.

After the break, Sussex only needed 3 minutes to double their lead after Castro finished hard and low off of a blocked cross from Jessenia Velez.  Giovanna would then add to her goal tally 5 minutes later converting a rebound from a corner into the roof of the net.  Head coach Frank Vernacchio was happy with the result saying, "I think we took a nice step forward today.  We were able to impose ourselves well in the game and limit Essex's opportunities, while also dictating the tempo for the majority of it.  Our goal from the start of this season was to win the Region and I think we took a big step today in putting us closer to that."

Next up for the Skylanders is the Community College of Rhode Island (4-2) on Saturday, October 5th at 12:00pm.