THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – First year Kiley Ritter recorded her second hat trick of the season on Thursday, as the Sarah Lawrence women's soccer team turned in their strongest offensive performance of the year with a season-high eight goals in an 8-1 win at Maritime at Reinhart Field. The Gryphons improve their standing in the Skyline Conference, moving to 4-3 overall with a 2-2 mark in league play.  

IN SHORT
Sarah Lawrence (4-3, 2-2) def. Maritime (1-6, 0-2), 8-1.

RECAP
Thursday's contest was a make-up from Tuesday night's rain out. The Gryphons were leading 5-0 in the game, when lightning struck in the 59th minute and the bad weather did not subside, calling for a stoppage of play. No stats counted as a result.

Sarah Lawrence simply picked up where they left off offensively, scoring four goals in the opening half of play.

Lauren Ashby scored the squad's first two goals of the evening. The sophomore gave Sarah Lawrence a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute, stealing the ball from a Maritime defender and getting herself in position for a hard-hit shot that bounced off the keeper's hands and into the netting.

Ashby found the back of the net again less than three minutes later, beating the goalie to the far post off a great through ball from River Pasquale, her second assist of the season.

Kiley Ritter scored her team-leading eighth goal of the year in the 18th minute, when classmate Tiffany McBrayer sent a through ball past three Maritime defenders to the foot of Ritter, who outran the back line for a breakaway finish to the right post.

McBrayer scored a goal of her own 1:43 before intermission. Sophia Spralja handed out her team-best fourth assist, lobbing a ball over the middle of the field to McBrayer, who beat the keeper to the right post for her fifth goal of the year.

Sarah Lawrence was in attack mode the entire first half, recording 14 shots, including nine attempts on target.

The Gryphons did not let up offensively in the second half, scoring four more times.  

Gaia Dennison scored her second goal of the season in the 49th minute, blasting a shot from 35 yards out to the near post. Ritter scored again in the 52nd minute, getting behind the Maritime back line and putting a nifty move on the keeper for the empty net goal. Maddie Eppler found the back of the net in the 74th minute, tapping in a cross from Ritter.

Ritter completed the hat trick in the 83rd minute, finishing to the far post off a great ball from Jordynn Figueroa. It is the first year's second hat trick of her young career and joins Ashby as the only Gryphons in program history to record at least three goals in more than one game.  

Maritime managed to erase the clean sheet in the 78th minute, as Brianna Etienne finished a cross from Leigh Kouril. It's the 12th goal given up by Sarah Lawrence this season, tied for the second-fewest in the Skyline behind only Farmingdale State (8).

Overall, the Gryphons defense stifled the Privateers' offense, as the back line made timely clears throughout the match, including in the 24th minute and 41st minute.

Sarah Lawrence has now won back-to-back contests over Maritime. Eight goals are the most scored in a meeting between the two Skyline opponents.   

UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence returns to action Monday (Oct. 8) for a non-conference match against John Jay at Randall's Island. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.