Sophomore defender Abbey Romano fights for the ball against the University of Delaware during an Oct. 4. That game was the last time the Dragons were held scoreless. (Ken Chaney – The Triangle)
The Drexel University women’s soccer team’s roll appeared to finally be slowing down.
Coming into the week, they hadn’t lost a game in over a month and were undefeated in conference play. If momentum is a thing, as some people believe, the Dragons were teeming with it. Until they faced off against James Madison University, that is.
The two teams battled it out Oct. 17 for first place in the conference. The Dukes defeated the Dragons 2-1, ending the Dragons’ eight-game undefeated streak.
Both teams played well defensively in the first half and the game went into halftime scoreless.
Drexel scored the first goal of the game in the 72nd minute of play. Megan Hammaker directed a corner kick into the box, which was received by Melissa Chapman. Chapman then headed the ball into the net.
Seconds after the reset, James Madison gained possession and brought the ball up the field. James Madison’s Allie Bunner tied the game at one, scoring off a pass from Ashley Herndon.
The game stayed tied at one through the rest of regulation and through the first overtime. The Dukes were able to secure the win in double overtime. In the 108th minute of play, James Madison’s Katie Hyland sent a powerful shot wide of the goal that was recovered by the Dukes’ Rachel Ivey before going out of bounds. Ivey sent a strong shot towards the net and scored, winning the game for James Madison.
Overall, the Dukes recorded 21 shots while the Dragons recorded 12. Drexel goalkeeper Kelsie Fye had another phenomenal performance with ten saves in the loss and James Madison’s keeper Kate Courter had three. The Dukes’ record improves to 10-6 overall and 5-1 in conference.
The following game, the Dragons and the Towson University Tigers fought through two overtimes for a 2-2 tie.
In the 26th minute of the game, Towson scored first, capitalizing on a Drexel penalty. The Tigers set up to deliver a free kick but instead passed the ball to set up Sofia Read for a shot. Towson went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Minutes into the second half, Drexel came back to the tie the game at one. Hammaker sent a corner kick into the box, reaching Chapman, who headed the ball and scored.
Drexel would score again in the 69th minute to take a 2-1 lead. Alyssa Findlay passed to Hammaker, who sent a shot to the top left of the net.
The Dragons maintained their lead until the 82nd minute of play when Tiger Katie Ponce tied up the game 2-2. Ponce had a breakaway and faced a one-in-one with Abbey Romano. Fye came out of the goal to assist Romano and get the ball away from Ponce, but Ponce quickly sank the ball in the opposite side of the net. The game remained tied as regulation time expired.
The teams both had several scoring opportunities in both overtimes but defense held the game to a draw. Overall, Drexel outshot Towson, with 29 to 12 shots, respectively. Fye recorded two saves, while Tiger Erin Quinn had 11.
Drexel’s record moves to 7-6-3 overall and 4-1-2 in conference games. The tie gives Drexel their second Colonial Athletic Association playoff berth in program history. Towson’s record moves to 4-8-4 overall and 1-4-2 in conference.
Drexel returns to action on the road Friday, Oct. 24 against the Hofstra University Pride and the Dragons will finish their regular season at Northeastern University Sunday, Oct. 26.