Final Four-bound Pascarella back to scoring goals with TCNJ
EWING » Emma Pascarella needed just eight minutes into her debut with The College of New Jersey women's soccer team to do something she had been waiting nearly three years to do again.
Put the ball in the back of the net.
“In my head, I'm like ‘this is what I've been waiting for,'” Pascarella said on Monday evening after the No. 1 ranked Lions wrapped up a training session in preparation of their 13th NCAA Division III Final Four appearance this weekend.
The 2017 CVC Player of the Year at Allentown High, Pascarella arrived on campus in Ewing as a transfer after spending her first two seasons at Rutgers. In fact, she went through preseason with the Big Ten school before entering the transfer portal and linking up with TCNJ — the Division III season kicks off later than Division I — just as it was getting started.
“I wasn't getting what I wanted at Rutgers and that's fine,” said Pascarella, who made just one appearance in two seasons and always had an uphill battle to get on the field amongst a star-studded cast. “I wanted to stay in Jersey. That was my main thing, close to home, close to everything here and I came to TCNJ because I knew some of the girls on the team and I love being here. The school is great. I've had a great experience.”
The winning tradition at TCNJ — 13 Final Fours and three national championships — also speaks for itself. Plus she knew some of the other players on the team from high school and club and her younger brother, Luke, is a sophomore on the men's team. “I
called him up and was like I wanted to make sure it was OK with you first,” she said. “This is your school, you know. He's just been great and it's the brother-sister kind of thing so I like it.”
Longtime coach Joe Russo, who is in his 32nd and final season, had no hesitation adding a player of Pascarella's quality. TCNJ had recruited her a bit coming out of Allentown and Rutgers coach Mike O'Neill had spoken highly of her work ethic, Russo said.
“She gives us a presence up front,” Russo said. “Her soccer IQ is well above average so it blends in with the
way we like to play into feet and get forward. She's been a great addition for us.”
Pascarella ranks second on the team in both goals (7) and points (18). Her most recent goal, on Nov. 17 against Messiah, went down as the game winner as the Lions held on for a 2-1 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
She's doing exactly what her coach asked her to do when he brought her in.
“Work hard, score some goals,” Pascarella said. “It's been everything I wanted it to be.”
TCNJ's attack has been balanced all season. Fifteen
different players have scored a goal and thirteen of them have netted at least twice, including former CVC standouts Ivonne Vasquez (five) and Julia Obst (four). Sophie Vieira is the leading scorer with nine goals and Gianna Coppola also has seven.
“Everybody fits in. There's no odd man out on our team,” Pascarella said. “There's never a person who does not work hard, so it's just been great.”
For a player who got just 15 minutes and hadn't scored a goal since her senior year of high school, this season has been everything
she could have hoped for.
“You're finally playing the game that you love,” Pascarella said. “That's what it's all about.”
With two more wins, the unbeaten Lions can lift a national championship trophy.
Now that would be some kind of story.
“Amazing,” Pascarella said. “I can't believe it. We talked as a team that we wanted to do this not only for each other, but for our coaches who are retiring. It's like a Cinderella story right there. It doesn't get much better than that.”