The Dayton women’s soccer team put on yet another impressive set of performances this past week, capping off a pair of wins against high quality opponents to improve its record to 8-1.
The No. 24-ranked Flyers had high expectations heading into this season and thus far have not disappointed, especially with the way they performed last week by defeating both No. 25 Ohio State and previously undefeated Kentucky.
Last Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, the Flyers took the field searching for their seventh win of the season. Dayton claimed the victory, 1-0, after sophomore Katrin Loo netted her first goal with the Flyers in the 36th minute.
Loo’s goal was all Dayton needed to hold on for the win as Ohio State could not find a way to get the ball past junior goalkeeper Katherine Boone, who recorded six saves for the Flyers’ third shutout of the season.
Saturday night, Dayton looked to continue its good fortunes as undefeated Kentucky came to play under the lights at Baujan Field.
Kentucky’s bid to stay unbeaten was stopped short though as Josie Grant and Juliana Libertin both put the ball in the back of the net to lift the Flyers to a 2-1 victory.
URI drops third-straight
Rhode Island was on the wrong end of history Friday night as Northeastern senior forward Veronica Napoli’s two goals set the school’s career record in goals and points, paving the way for a 2-0 Huskies win.
Napoli’s first goal, which tied the Northeastern all-time record, came in the 36th minute off an assist from junior forward Hanna Terry, putting the Huskies up, 1-0.
Napoli’s second goal of the night, which put the Huskies up 2-0 in the 59th minute, sealed her place in Northeastern soccer history as she launched her 31st career goal, breaking the all-time record previously set by Kristin Kowalik in 2006. The goal also marked her 75th career point, which also surpassed Kowalik for No. 1 on the all-time list.
Scoring opportunities were hard to come by for the Rams, who were outshot by Northeastern, 20-3, for the game. The Rams were suffocated by the Huskies’ defensive play and could not find a way to get the ball past freshman goalkeeper Paige Burnett, who registered her second-career shutout.
Although Rhode Island (4-3-1) was outplayed in all facets of the game on Friday night, freshman goalkeeper Reilly Lindsey did not disappoint, making a season-high seven saves.
After starting the season undefeated, including a three-game win streak following a tie on their opening match, the Rams’ loss marked the third-straight defeat.
Rhode Island righted the ship on Sunday when it defeated Harvard, 3-2, at home. The Rams will have two more home games before opening up conference play against UMass on Oct. 1.
Wann of a kind
While Rhode Island struggled, Richmond is turning its season around thanks in large part to the play of sophomore Becca Wann.
After starting the season 1-3-2, the Spiders have reeled off four-straight victories, including a 4-1 beat-down over Western Carolina as part of the UNC-Wilmington invitational on Friday night.
Wann, who scored two goals and added an assist, was the main reason why Richmond was able to win in such dominating fashion.
As last season’s Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Wann has consistently been the go-to player for the Spiders all season long, tallying eight goals and four assists. Wann’s performance has earned her the A-10 Player of the Week for the second week in a row and her third overall.
Wann and Richmond will look to repeat their efforts this week when they face American, Duquesne and St. Bonaventure on the road.
Nick Canelas can be reached at [email protected].
