The Drexel University women’s soccer team moved on from their loss to the College of William & Mary Sept. 30 to a home game against University of North Carolina Wilmington Oct. 4.
In the first half, the Dragons dominated in terms of shots on goal, 6-5. Senior Shaelyn McCarty had a chance to take the lead in the first three minutes of the game, but her shot went wide. She was one-on-one with the goalie, as she surpassed the entire defense, but she could not pull through.
As Drexel was trying to move the ball to the offense, the Seahawks’ Kirsten Bootes took the ball away from the defense and cleared it into the lower left corner, past junior goalkeeper Libby Baeza.
There were two more opportunities for the Dragons to score in the first half, with a free kick and corner kick, but none of them could get into the back of the net. The corner kick resulted in two opportunities for Drexel, but neither could get Drexel on the board. One of the shots came from freshman Lauren Currey, but it bounced off the crossbar.
In the start of the second half, both teams went on the offensive and went back and forth shooting at their opponent’s goals. This time, Drexel outshot UNCW 14-4, showing their dominance on offense, but it was to no avail. The Dragons had one last chance from two consecutive corner kicks from senior Emma Heckenberg, but neither shot made it into the net. Redshirt senior Kiera Hennessy tried to head the second corner in, but it sailed wide as UNCW won 1-0.
The Dragons moved on from this loss to a game against the University of Delaware Oct. 7. This match was a great bounce back from the UNCW loss as Drexel scored halfway through the first half. In the 37th minute, Currey stole the ball from a Delaware defender and turned and shot into the bottom right of the net. This gave the Dragons some life, as they continued to dominate in the half. They outshot the Blue Hens 5-3.
In the second half, the Blue Hens seemed to improve on offense and defense, as Drexel only outshot them 9-8. In the 77th minute, Currey stole the ball from a Delaware defender yet again. But this time, her shot hit the right post and ended up in Delaware goalkeeper Kamryn Stablein’s hands.
However, Drexel did not give up until the last minute of the game. In the final minute, McCarty maneuvered through Delaware defenders and shot from 35 yards out, curving the ball into the back of the net. This put a cherry on top of the 2-0 victory over the Blue Hens.
Baeza ended up with three saves, and the Dragons outshot the Blue Hens 14-11.
The Dragons hosted Hofstra University Oct. 11 at Vidas Field and lost in overtime 3-2. They are now 2-4-0 in Colonial Athletic Association conference play with only three games remaining until the conference championships begin Oct. 26. The Dragons will now travel to play Towson University Oct. 14 in Towson, Maryland, before heading north to Boston, Massachusetts, to play Northeastern University Oct. 18.