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EAST STROUDSBURG - Sophomore forward Alex Pickett scored two goals in a stretch of 4:21 early in the second half, leading No. 4-ranked East Stroudsburg University to a 3-0 win vs. Clarion and the Warriors' sixth shutout in seven games on Saturday afternoon at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

ESU (7-0, 7-0) extended its scoreless minutes streak to 502:23 and has a 17-1 goal differential this season, conceding its only goal in the 38th minute of a 2-1 win over Shippensburg on September 3.

The Warriors also tied a school record with their fifth straight shutout, matching the 1993 and 2014 teams, and equaled the 2014 team with their fifth straight shutout vs. PSAC opponents.

Pickett scored 38 seconds into the second half and again 4:59 into the half before senior back Laurel Neira headed in a corner kick in the 65th minute for the Warriors' third goal.

Senior back Hannah Gombos assisted on ESU's first and third goals, with freshman midfielder Danielle Cary assisting on Pickett's second goal in the 50th minute.

Junior goalkeeper Jules Harris made three saves for ESU, which had a 28-4 advantage in shots - 13-2 in the first half, and 15-2 in the second half.

Harris posted her fifth solo shutout (sixth overall) this season, and has 20 solo shutouts (23 overall) in 45 career starts.

Pickett's two goals are the sixth and seventh of her career, and Neira's goal was her third of the season and the 11th of her career. Gombos notched her 12th and 13th career assists and has five this season.

The Warriors extended their best-ever PSAC start (7-0) and have the second-best overall start in school history, behind a 13-0 mark to open the 1994 season when they won the first-ever PSAC championship awarded in women's soccer.

ESU improves to 41-8-3 since the start of the 2014 season and has won the last two PSAC championships, along with the 2015 NCAA DII Atlantic Region title.

The Warriors also stretch their record to 21-3-1 when ranked in the top 10 of the NSCAA DII poll, including 20-1-1 under 10th-year head coach Rob Berkowitz.

Up next for the Warriors is a top-five match-up at No. 5 Adelphi on Monday at  7 p.m. Adelphi is 5-0 going into a Saturday night (6 p.m.) game vs. Stonehill. ESU has never played in a match-up of top-10 or top-5 schools in women's soccer.


GAME NOTES
* ESU entered the week ranked t-3rd in DII (of 256 schools) in shutout percentage (0.833), and 6th in goals against average (0.167).

* ESU improves to 101-6-7 when scoring the game's first goal in the last 10 years (36-0 since 2014)
* ESU improves to 69-0-1 when leading by 2+ goals at any point in a game in the last 10 years

* ESU's scoreless minutes streak is its longest since at least the 2003 season:
502:23 - 2016 (current)
470:53 - 2014
464:38 - 2010
404:42 - 2013 [opened season]

* ESU improved to 13-1-1 since a 4-2 win vs. No. 1 Gannon on Oct. 30, 2015 (secured PSAC playoff berth)
* ESU went 5-1-1 in 7 postseason games last year to earn its 2nd straight PSAC championship and 1st-ever NCAA DII Atlantic Region title
* Warriors have a 32-7 goal diferential in their last 15 games (5 vs. nationally-ranked opponents)

* Entering Monday at Adelphi (7 p.m.), ESU is 6-7-2 all-time when both teams are ranked in the NSCAA DII Top 25 (4-3-1 under Rob Berkowitz)

* ESU head coach Rob Berkowitz moved within 2 wins of the school record for wins by a women's soccer coach (program started in 1992):
112 - Derek Arneaud (1995-06) - 112-104-15 (.517)
110 - Rob Berkowitz (2007-   ) - 110-58-19 (.639)
39 - Jerry Sheska (1992-94) - 39-10-2 (.775)