No. 12 Mount St. Dominic beats No. 19 Livingston 2-0 in battle of SEC’s best

• Updated: Sep. 28, 2024, 3:05 p.m.
• |Published: Sep. 28, 2024, 2:29 p.m.

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Reina Casas (2) of Mount St. Dominic looks to get past Adriana Salzano (2) of Princeton Day during the girls soccer NJSIAA Non-Public A Finals at Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ on Friday, November 10, 2023.Tom Horak | For NJ Advance Media

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• Donovan Hugel | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Sophia Giordano had a standout freshman season last year for Mount St. Dominic. The midfielder was a starter all year long and posted 12 goals, including the opener in the North, Non-Public A title game.

She was a player to watch coming into her sophomore year and was expected to once again, be in the starting lineup to open the season. Only she wasn’t, thanks to a sprained ankle that she suffered in the preseason. She was stuck to the bench and the Lions were down a crucial player.

Without her on the field the Lions still got out to a dominant start. But they were going to need her at some point when the games inevitably got tighter. That moment came on Saturday.

After missing the first three games of the season, Giordano recently made her return to the starting lineup and scored the opening goal on Saturday as Mount St. Dominic, No. 12 in the NJ.com Top 20, took down No. 19 Livingston 2-0.

Giordano’s goal came with just over 20 minutes remaining in the second half when she volleyed in a cross from junior Lena Tusche, who created a turnover by reading the play perfectly and jumping in front of a clear. In a tight battle between the top two teams in the SEC, Giordano’s goal made a massive difference.

“It was really big for [Sophia] to score in a big game,” Lions goalie Isabella Raju said. “We’re all really happy for her. She’s taking her shots and is fully back scoring. It’s been a good time for her and for us to see her back.”

Here and there Giordano would get taken off for a substitute, but the sophomore played the majority of the game and should only get healthier.

“I’m really happy about that moment,” Giordano said. “The start of the season was hard for me. Getting injured and having to watch from the bench was tough, but it’s a nice comeback for me. I’m really excited to be back and be playing with the team again.”

Mount St. Dominic (7-0) started the second half on the front foot after being bottled up offensively in the first half for the first time this season. The Lions weren’t able to play in Livingston’s half of the field all that much. Tusche and Gianna Camporeale were flanked at all times by several Livingston defenders and couldn’t get a clean shot off on goal.

The Lions could’ve been trailing at halftime, but Raju stopped an Izzy Kilelee shot point blank to preserve the 0-0 tie.

It still felt like anyone’s game with 20 minutes left in regulation, but the Lions took advantage first. Raju made two more saves off a corner kick in the 51st minute, and then 11 minutes later Giordano was in the perfect spot to break the tie.

Livingston (7-2-1) started to press harder with time ticking down and had several chances to equalize with less than 10 minutes remaining. Off a corner kick from the left flag the Mount St. Dominic defense was scrambling to clear, and the Lancers nearly poked the ball in.

It had three consecutive corner kicks from the right flag after that but couldn’t convert. Olivia Hans had a shot deflect off of the crossbar and out.

Through it all, Raju and the young Lions defense stayed composed enough in order to keep the ball out of the back of the net. That unit picked up its sixth consecutive shutout, and Raju finished the game with a career-high nine saves.

“I’m just making sure I’m keeping calm and reading the ball properly,” Raju said. “Anything can happen, so I just have to keep my eyes on the ball. We always know what the right defensive call is based on the situation. The defense and I are just reading off of each other and staying calm.”

Once it had the lead, the Lions packed in defensively but knew if the chance to came to move forward it had to. With 1:10 left Camporeale got in free with two defenders back and passed off to Reina Casas, who one timed a shot in to double the lead and effectively put the game to bed.

“We kept our momentum going from the first goal,” Giordano said. “It was a little frustrating that we weren’t in Livingston’s half early, but once we got through in the second half it was motivational to just keep going. We got our goal, and we got our win.”

The win was massive for Mount St. Dominic, which now has head-to-head wins over Livingston and West Orange. The Lions are in the driver’s seat to clinch the top-seed for the Essex County Tournament as a result.

Last season the Lions made history by winning its first ever sectional title. This season’s success has only been an extension of that as it’s snapped losing streaks to both West Orange and Livingston.

It’ll likely play one of the two, if not both, in the Essex County Tournament. The Lions are no longer the underdog in Essex County are looking forward to the challenge.

“Going forward we want to win counties,” Giordano said. “We haven’t been able to do that before. We have a really good team this year with a ton of potential, so hopefully once we do that, we can follow that up with a state title.”