MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Marie Bogue scored her first goal of the season and Alex Scott recorded a shutout in her first victory of the year as the Monmouth University women's soccer team earned a 1-0 win over the College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point stadium in South Carolina.
The victory gave the Hawks their first CAA win of the season and improved them to 6-2-3 overall and 1-1-1 in conference play. Monmouth also recorded its sixth shutout through its first 11 matches, marking the first time the Hawks have reached six clean sheets that quickly since the 2023 season.
Monmouth controlled the opening half and generated nearly all of the attacking opportunities. After Charleston recorded the first shot just 25 seconds into the match, Ashley Lavrich had an attempt blocked in the 11th minute before the Hawks began to establish sustained pressure.
Bogue produced Monmouth's first shot on goal in the 16th minute, forcing Cougars goalkeeper Mia Vrataric into a save. Lavrich tested Vrataric four minutes later, helping the Hawks earn back-to-back corner kicks. Monmouth continued to threaten, with Charlee Perna sending an attempt high and Lavrich forcing another save in the 29th minute.
The Hawks finished the opening 45 minutes with a 7-1 advantage in shots, including a 3-0 edge in attempts on target. Monmouth also earned six corner kicks without allowing one to Charleston and controlled 66 percent of the first-half possession, but the match remained scoreless at the break.
Monmouth finally converted its pressure into the decisive goal early in the second half. Evangeline Perdomo used a Charleston turnover to set up Bogue in the 52nd minute, and Bogue finished the opportunity with a right footed strike to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage. The goal was Bogue's first of the season, while Perdomo recorded her fourth assist of the year, moving her into a tie with Maddie DeMaio for the team lead.
Charleston responded with its best stretch of the match following the goal, but Scott was there each time the Cougars threatened. She made her first save against Ellison Stewart in the 58th minute before denying Mary Martin Spinner less than three minutes later to preserve the one-goal advantage.
Monmouth continued looking for an insurance goal at the other end. Brooke De Almeida put a shot on goal in the 62nd minute, while DeMaio and Loren Gehret followed with attempts. Daniella Butash later put a shot on target in the 78th minute, but Cougars made the save to stay within one.
The Monmouth defense closed the door from there. Charleston managed just five shots for the entire match and only two on target, while the Hawks finished with a 15-5 advantage in attempts and a commanding 8-1 edge in corner kicks.
Scott made two saves over the full 90 minutes to earn her first victory of the season. The clean sheet was the third of her career in just five collegiate starts dating back to last season. Bogue scored on one of her two shots on goal, while Lavrich paced the Hawks with six total attempts.
Monmouth's sixth shutout of the season secured its first conference victory and continued an impressive defensive start that has seen the Hawks keep opponents off the scoreboard in more than half of their first 11 matches.
After a 1-1-1 road trip to start conference play, the Hawks will have a week off before returning to Hesse Field in West Long Branch next Sunday to host Drexel. The first of three straight home contests for Monmouth is set to kickoff at 1 p.m. on FloSports.
