ROCHESTER, N.Y. - As the midway point of the season approaches, the coaching staff for the Roberts Wesleyan College women's soccer team is starting to get a feel for the type of team the Redhawks might be.
So far, so good.
Roberts put its talent on display Sunday afternoon and pulled away for a 7-2 home victory over Bryant & Stratton College.
Bryant & Stratton struck first with a goal in the 14th minute, but the Redhawks, who had not played in eight days, turned it on from there.
"We started out a little bit sloppy in the first half, but we cleaned it up," Redhawks coach Sarah McClellan said. "We had a strong second half, scored some nice goals and had some nice build-ups.
Senior Selena Beller drilled a 35-yard shot to even the game in the 23rd minute and junior Sydney Regan scored to put Roberts in front to stay in the 32nd minute.
The Redhawks found their groove in the second half, scoring five times.
Junior Justine Sharda opened the second-half scoring, finishing a nifty 2-on-1 feed from Eboni Redman-Coombs in the 46th minute. Freshman Gabrielle Cimbella converted a steal less than five minutes later to make it 4-1.
Sophomore Erin Faso buried a penalty kick in the 58th minute and sophomore Olivia Grande found the back of the net less than a minute later to make it 6-1.
Sophomore Victoria Bisciotti completed the scoring for the Redhawks in the 67th minute.
Bryant & Stratton added a late goal for the final margin.
Junior Madison Papaj and freshman Nicolette Knauf shared goalkeeping duties for Roberts, which outshot the Bobcats 18-5.
The Redhawks (3-0) will host Gannon University in its next game at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 17.