JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Oct 15th) -
Theresa Wappett's first goal of the year in the 71st minute pulled the Delaware State Hornets even at 1-1 with the St. Peter's Peahens, forcing the first overtime of the year for the squad. But SPC's Alex Keddie's golden strike in the 106th minute would be the difference in defeating the DSU Hornets 2-1 at Jaroschak Field on Thursday afternoon.
Despite cold and rainy conditions, the Hornets held firm on the road for the first half as the sides left the pitch even at halftime. St. Peters outshot the Hornets 10-1 in the opening stanza, forcing five saves from junior goalkeeper Courtney Haas. Peahen pressure would finally avail in the 58th minute when a corner kick from Chloe Zmolek found Courtney Sundstrom in the area, who slotted away the opener. Wappett's equalizer in the 71st came from a cross sent from the DSU half, which saw the freshman midfielder take the ball in space and use her pace to blow by the Peahen backline and slot away a grass-blazing burner to the right of keeper Caitlin Hoffer. It was Wappett's first tally of her young career, and she becomes the first Hornet to notch both a goal and an assist this season.
Haas shined in net for DSU, picking up 11 saves for the match, and her defensive line was also stalwart, forcing SPC offsides five times. Despite the loss, it was a game effort from the red and blue, with nine Hornets of the starting XI logging the entire 105:03 on the pitch.
"This was our most disciplined and best performance of the season," said head coach Nitan Soni, whose squad has now scored in three of their last four matches. "We tried to do the right things all game, and the girls did a very, very good job. We just ran out of gas at the end."
DSU (1-12, 0-3 Great West) will look to build on the momentum when they return to conference play on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Newark, N.J. against the NJIT Highlanders. Newark will also be the site of the Great West Conference Tournament Nov. 6-9. Stay with DSUHornets.com for more information on the Hornets throughout the season.
