(Florence, S.C.) – In what seemed as if Sunday afternoon's Independent Conference Tournament Championship match needed extra minutes to decide a winner, the top-seeded Delaware State women's soccer team (8-9-3) took advantage of a costly South Carolina State Bulldog (2-10-1) foul with 14 seconds left, resulting in senior Danielle Valente (5) connecting for the game-winning goal in a penalty kick situation to break the scoreless tie.
“I was just trying to keep my composure,” said Valente, who was 1-for-2 (.500) in penalty kick situations this season coming in. “This team has worked extremely hard for us to not pull out this win. I was just focused on putting the ball in the back of the net for my girls.”
With Sunday's 1-0 victory, DSU not only won its second consecutive Independent Conference Tournament crown, but it set a new mark for most wins (8) and best overall winning percentage (.475) in program single-season history. SCSU, meanwhile, failed to secure back-to-back victories this season, after defeating weekend host No. 2 Francis Marion on Friday.
For head coach Kerri Scroope, who extended career win total to 15, she could not have asked for a better way to complete her third season at the helm.
“We have a history with South Carolina State and they always present a difficult challenge whenever we go against them,” added Scroope. “Our team did a wonderful job of battling through some rough stretches, but we showed a lot of mental toughness here today to pick up another championship.”
The Hornets controlled the pace throughout Sunday's match, tallying 12 shots, including six placed on-goal. Nevertheless, it was not until SCSU committed one of its 15 infractions of the afternoon to set up the game-winning strike for Valente.
“Dani just really stepped up to the plate during that situation and got it done,” said Scroope. “It's just fitting that she was put in that situation, considering she's a senior and has been a great leader for this team since I've been here.”
DSU's Michele Lammers (8-9-3), meanwhile, completed her sophomore season collecting two saves, in addition to closing the season allowing no goals in the last four games. For the year, Lammers finished with 86 saves and a DSU single-season best 5.2 shutouts.
“Lammers, along with the rest of our backline, set the tone for the final stretch of the season,” stated Scroope. “She had a lot on her plate this season in an attempt to replace (Katelyn) Koslosky, but did an excellent job and I'm looking for better things next season.”
Sunday's win wrapped up in what was arguably the best in school history. The Hornets set single-season best marks for most games played (20), goals (36), points (91), shots (235) and shots on-goal (110). DSU also set a new mark for most consecutive wins in a row (4).
Looking ahead to 2016, the Columbia Blue & Red is set return 18 players, but will lose mainstays Taylor Addison, Julia Bossert, Tere' Crawford, Morgan Durham and Valente to graduation.
“It's going to be extremely tough to replace this group,” stated Scroope. “We'll do all that we can from a recruiting standpoint to replace their production, but it's up to the returners to pick up where they left off from a production standpoint.”
Note: DSU's Ayanna Smith earned Tournament Most Valubale Player honors, in addition to Tere' Crawford, McKenzie Miller and Danielle Valente receiving All-Tournament Team recognition.
