The Drexel University women’s soccer team has been working hard to turn their losing record around and secure some victories. So far their effort has paid off, evident in consecutive wins over The George Washington University Colonials on and the Wagner College Seahawks on Sept. 19 and 21 at Vidas Field.
In these games, the Dragons employed a slightly new strategy on the field.
“We tweaked our formation a little to emphasize being more threatening when we are in possession of the ball,” said head coach Ray Goon. “We’ve done really well maintaining possession overall, but felt we weren’t being dangerous enough on a consistent basis.”
And it paid off, as the Dragons successfully shut out the Colonials with a final score of 2-0. Junior goalkeeper Kelsie Fye had seven saves in the victory, and seniors Melissa Chapman and Megan Hammaker had one goal each.
The first goal was scored by Hammaker off a rebound from a saved penalty kick in the first half. Colonials goalkeeper Miranda Horn saved the penalty kick, taken by Hammaker, but failed to save the solid shot toward the right bottom corner of the net off the rebound.
The Dragons were able to maintain a one-goal advantage throughout most of the game due to Fye’s performance in the net as she made five critical saves in the second half to keep the Colonials scoreless.
“I kept thinking that if a ball is coming my way I have to keep it out. I wanted nothing more than to secure the win and the shutout,” Fye said.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, Chapman added to Drexel’s lead with a score to the left side of the goal; Hammaker delivered a corner kick to Madison Dunn, who headed the ball toward Chapman, allowing her to take a shot and score.
“Overall, our game against George Washington was the strongest we have played this season. They were a good team who had strong players who were not afraid to take shots outside of the box. Our team did well at pressuring them and keeping their shots limited,” Fye said.
In total, the Dragons tallied 13 shots while the Colonials recorded 11.
In yet another shutout, the Dragons downed Wagner by one goal, winning 1-0.
“It felt incredible to get two shutouts this past weekend. The team has been playing very well recently but, unfortunately, the results have not been in our favor.” Fye said.
Forward Jacki Sieder scored the lone goal of the game in the 44th minute. Sieder received a well-placed pass from Sam Greenfield and sent a shot to the back of the net.
Overall, Drexel outshot Wagner 22 to 5, with 9 to 1 shots on goal, respectively.
With these wins, the Dragons’ record improves to 3-5-1.
“Winning against George Washington was huge for us and clinching two wins in one weekend right before conference play is just what we needed,” Fye said.
Goon said that he is pleased with the team’s performance thus far and is looking forward to playing interconference games.
The Dragons will try to keep the momentum rolling as they face off against College of Charleston Sept. 26 at Vidas Field.