(Dover, Del.) – Sunday afternoon, the Delaware State women's soccer team (3-8-1) snapped a season-long four-game slide with a dramatic 2-1 home victory over Mount St. Mary's (1-10), headlined by freshman Savannah Taylor (1) scoring on a free-kick opportunity just outside of the Mounts' goalie box with 38 seconds to play.
With this victory, the Hornets secured their first win since a 2-1 home triumph over Manhattan on Sept. 13, whereas Mount St. Mary's dropped its third in a row.
“I had been practicing that type of play with the goalkeepers yesterday,” said Taylor of her game-winning strike. “The goalie put a wall up and she didn't stand in the right spot. She left the left side of the net completely wide open and so I just knew where to hit it.”
Head coach Kerri Scroope, who is now tied with Matt Okoh (2005-07) for most all-time wins in DSU history (8), knew it would be a good chance for Taylor to score.
“I actually told Leslie Fazio she gets the assist, because last night that's all what they were practicing,” said Scroope. “So when I saw the moment, I knew it was the go-to.”
Before the late-game dramatics, the Hornets led the majority of the afternoon, beginning with forward Elise Pratt (1) connecting for an unassisted goal during the 25th minute. Applying pressure at the point, Pratt managed to intercept an attempted by clear by the Mounts deep in their own territory during the 25th minute.
“I just pressured the goalie, the girl literally just miss hit it and I was just standing there,” said Pratt, a junior transfer from Stony Brook.
Mount St. Mary's later answered during the 57th minute, when midfielder Nicki Pinto (2) was there at close range for a rebound and score after forward Nicole Valley's shot was blocked.
Seemed as if the match was heading to overtime, Mount St. Mary's committed one of its 16 fouls right outside of its own goalie box with under a minute left in regulation. As a result, Taylor's goal gave DSU's its second-straight victory over the Mounts in as many seasons.
“I was pretty calm actually surprisingly,” said Taylor of her first-career goal. “We just have to keep the intensity up. Our biggest thing is mentality for us. We just can't come out flat. 90 minutes. We have to be strong.”
At game's end, the Hornets tallied 10 shot attempts, compared to the Mounts' nine. In the net, DSU's Michele Lammers collected four saves, whereas Quinn Costello-Mays totaled two stops to drop to 1-4 on the season.
Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will back in action at NJIT on Oct. 6 (7 p.m.). Last season, Delaware State went 1-1 against the Highlanders, including a 2-1 victory in the championship game of the Independent Conference Tournament.
“As far as NJIT, that's always going to be a little rivalry there,” added Scroope, who 1-2 all-time against the Highlanders. “It always gets a little physical whenever we play, but we just have to maintain our composure and go for it.”
