The Drexel University women’s soccer team split their matches on the road this weekend.
The Dragons defeated the Northeastern University Huskies in a 3-1 victory Oct. 23.
Northeastern got on the board first during the eighth minute of play. Northeastern’s Breeana Koemans scored the goal for the Huskies off a rebound.
Imani Walker came back with a score for the Dragons to tie up the game. Walker received the ball from Vanessa Kara and delivered a shot into the net for her third goal of the year.
With the halftime break approaching, Drexel took a 2-1 lead, as Wilhelmina Hauch-Fausboll kicked one in for the Dragon goal. She found the ball off a corner kick and sent it past the goalkeeper. The Dragons maintained their one goal advantage going into halftime.
Drexel scored the final goal of the game to seal their victory in the 67th minute of regulation. Vanessa Kara scored the goal, giving her 11 on the season for the program record for both goals and points in a single season.
“It is definitely is an honor to hold the single season scoring record and points record,” Kara said.
“I definitely didn’t expect to achieve these goals this season, but it does help with my confidence on the field. I am very grateful to the team for making this possible and for helping me have a good freshmen season,” Kara continued.
Drexel net-minder Kelsie Fye had seven saves in the win, while the Huskies’ Nathalie Nidetch recorded three.
With the loss, Northeastern falls to 11-6-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association matchups.
Later in the week, Drexel fell to the Hofstra University Pride Oct. 25 by a close count of 1-0.
Hofstra’s Emily Hulbert scored the lone goal of the game in the 44th minute of regulation. Hulbert received a cross from the right that was headed into the center of the field. Hulbert then headed the ball past Fye.
In the second half, the Dragons had good opportunities, getting off seven shots. However, Drexel could not overcome the one goal deficit and the Pride held on to win.
With the win, Hofstra became the CAA regular season champions and earned themselves first place in league play.
The Pride tallied 16 shots in the competition, while the Dragons recorded nine. Fye had two saves, while Hofstra goalkeeper Friederike Mehring had one.
The loss eliminated Drexel from playoff competition. The Dragons finished the season at 9-9 overall and 3-6 in conference matchups.
Coach Ray Goon made comments on the team’s overall performance this season.
“Like most things when you look back, there are good things and things you need to work on,” Goon said. “But to stay consistent with what we’ve been saying all year, we have to find the difference, be the difference. At times this year, we were able to do some really good things and other times we struggled a bit, so consistency will be something we’ll need to work on,” he continued.
“I think our senior class did a good job of setting the tone this season. They demonstrated good leadership, challenged the team to be better and work harder, and maintained a solid sense of ‘team’ on and off the field,” Goon said.
Looking toward next season, Goon reflected, “It’s always sad to see your seniors move on, but it’s part of collegiate sports and an opportunity for the returning players to lead now.”