DOVER, Del. - With a
limited-experience goalkeeper in the net and fresh faces on the field, the
Delaware State University women's soccer team held Campbell University
scoreless in the first half,; however, the Camels overtook the Hornets, 5-0, in
the second half to take the win Saturday morning at Alumni Stadium.
The
game, which was originally scheduled for Friday evening and was postponed until
this morning due to severe storms in the area, showed great defense on both
ends in the first half as the two teams went into halftime with a score of 0-0.
"Our
backline was disciplined and focused on the situation at hand," stated DSU head
coach Nitan Soni. "Everybody was working hard. There were some nerves early on in the game,
but we gradually built momentum and got people into position to take advantage.
It really was a solid group effort."
CU
got off six shots in the first period, but sophomore Darcy Pelz-Butler (Silver Spring, Md.) tallied three saves in her
first half as goalie. Pelz-Butler recorded
six total saves in the game.
"Darcy
is really a makeshift situation as the goalie.
For what we're asking of her to do, she is doing a great job," Soni
remarked. "She's a field player who
stepped up in a time of need for us and said she can take over as goalie. We really want to play hard in front of her
so she doesn't have to deal with too much."
The
second half is where inexperience played a key role for the Hornets.
Campbell
freshman midfielder Ashley Clark scored the first goal of the season in the 56th
minute with assists from goalie Ryann Torrero and fellow midfielder Kristy
Meyer.
It's
at that point when the goals started to come in for the Camels. Meyer and junior Lauren Kuklenski scored the
next two goals to go up, 3-0, at the 71st minute. Senior Marisa Muller put in two shots of her
own off of a free kick at the 79th minute and on a corner kick at
the 85th minute to take the final of 5-0.
"The
second half is where more experience in the net would have kept those shots
out," commented Soni. "This is a temporary
situation and it'll make us a better team."
The
Hornets recorded three shots of their own on the day, from juniors Theresa Wappett (Queensbury, N.Y.) and Jeanette Salgado (Bergenfield, N.J.)
and freshman Taylor Melton (Havre de
Grace, Md.).
The
Camels start the season 1-0 while DSU posts a 0-1 record. Torrero earns her first win of the season for
CU with two saves.
The
Hornets return to the Alumni Stadium field on Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup
against Binghamton University.