Victories against Duquesne University and Fordham University allowed women’s soccer to maintain an undefeated streak in the Atlantic 10 after taking down the Duquesne Dukes 1-0, and then defeating the Fordham Rams 3-2 in overtime.
The women were able to defeat Fordham despite trailing 1-0 in the first half of the match. Fordham’s redshirt-sophomore forward Kristina Maksuti managed to fire a shot into the net with her head off a corner kick from her teammate, junior midfielder/defender Brianna Blunck.
“We didn’t make it easy on ourselves,” head coach Lindsey Martin said. “They played the game the right way and they had two very good finishes, but we were able to battle back. I’m proud of our resilient effort tonight.”
In the second half, senior forward Kailyn Slade scored two goals for the Rams, both of which tied up the score when VCU was trailing. Her first was off a header from a corner in just the first three minutes of the second half to tie the score at 1-1.
After a goal from Fordham’s graduate midfielder/defender Jessica Widmann, Slade was able to strike again by tapping a loose ball in front of the net. The goal for Slade tied the score at 2-2 with eight minutes left in the game, forcing overtime.
“I guess I just waited until my senior year to score all of these goals,” Slade said. “I don’t know where my head came from, because I’m the shortest one of the field. I’ve been getting these headers but it feels great to be home and score the hat trick.”
The hat trick came when Slade put the game away for VCU in the first four minutes of overtime, and VCU came away with a 3-2 victory after trailing twice during the match. The Rams held a 16-7 advantage in shots.
“I think the team just got their stuff together,” Slade said. “This is when it matters, it’s like a new season beginning A-10 play and we just want to win it.”
Photo by Ana Garvin
“We’re a young team,” Martin said. “We have a couple of mature players, but you’re going to make mistakes when you’re young. So I feel like we’re hitting a stride around the right time, that’s not to say we’re still going to make some mistakes but you want to get better as a team as the season goes on and I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job of that.”
In the first half against the Dukes, VCU was unable to manage a goal. They outshot VCU in the first 45 minutes 4-3. In the second, Martin’s offense took over, and VCU held an 11-3 advantage in shots overall, which helped them take the 1-0 win, outshooting the Dukes 14-7 overall.
Duquesne and VCU found themselves in a defensive struggle most of the match, neither side finding luck connecting on shot attempts.
In the first four minutes of the second half, VCU freshman forward Julia Suarez managed a goal by taking advantage of a pass from her teammate, sophomore defender Amanda Hallesjo, and with two moves put the ball past the Dukes’ freshman goalkeeper, Kyra Murphy.
VCU was able to outmatch Duquesne in offense in the first half, and went on to take the 1-0 win, continuing their win streak to four games and staying unbeaten in conference play.
The next match for VCU is against Dayton University on Sunday afternoon. The Rams currently hold a record of 5-6-1 and are 3-0 in the A-10.
