Senior midfielder Alyssa Findlay dribbles down the field during an Oct. 26 loss at Northeastern University. The loss gave the Dragons fifth place in the conference. (Photo Courtesy – DrexelDragons.com)
There are good ways and bad ways to enter postseason play.
Losing two straight conference games? That’s a bad way.
The Drexel University women’s soccer team fell to Hofstra University Oct. 24 by a score of 2-1.
Hofstra scored first in the 29th minute of the game when Hofstra’s Lulu Echeverry received a cross from Leah Galton and headed the ball into the net.
The Pride held the Dragons scoreless, going into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes into the second half, Hofstra extended their lead. The Pride’s Jeannine Molleda delivered a corner kick that found Galton. Galton headed the ball into the goal, giving her 10 goals on the season.
Under a minute later, the Dragons were able to make a comeback as Megan Hammaker sent a strong shot into the right corner of the net, cutting the deficit to one. The goal was Hammaker’s fifth of the season.
Toward the end of regulation time, Drexel had some opportunities to tie the game at two. Melissa Chapman attempted consecutive header shots that both went wide. A minute later, Sam Greenfield made another attempt, but the ball hit the crossbar. The Dragons were unable to overcome the 2-1 deficit and Hofstra came away with a win.
Overall, Hofstra finished with 19 shots and Drexel finished with 10. Dragon’s keeper Kelsie Fye tallied four saves in the loss, while the Pride’s Friederike Mehring recorded two.
Hofstra improved to 10-6-1 on the season and 5-2-1 in conference matchups. The Pride moved into third place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings.
The Dragons then traveled to Boston, where they faced off against Northeastern University.
Defense prevailed in the first half of playing time, and the game went into halftime scoreless.
In the 61st minute of the game, the Huskies scored the only and game-winning goal of the game when Northeastern’s Shayna Blackwood received a cross from Kayla Cappuzzo and sent a shot into the back of the net.
The Dragons made some attempts to score in the remaining time of the second half; however, none were successful. Lauren Stollar had two shots on net, but they went wide. Chapman attempted a header shot on goal with less than two minutes to go, but the shot sailed wide of the net. Northeastern was able to secure a victory after Drexel failed to score.
Overall, the Huskies outshot the Dragons, 12-3. Fye had three saves in the losing effort.
With the win, Northeastern secured the regular-season champion title with a 12-4-3 regular season record and a 7-1-1 record in conference play.
It’s not all bad for the Dragons, though, as they locked up a postseason spot last week and the losses only hurt them in terms of seeding.
The Dragons will be facing off Sunday, Nov. 2 against fourth-seeded The College of William & Mary on the road for the CAA quarterfinals.