Women's Soccer Withstands UNCW on the Road, 1-0

Sunday, October 8

Wilmington, N.C.

1 p.m.

Drexel University

9-5-1, 4-1-1CAA

UNCW

5-8-2, 1-3-1CAA

Drexel

UNCW

Photo by: Sideline Photos

Women's Soccer Withstands UNCW on the Road, 1-0

10/8/2017 3:33:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Drexel women's soccer team moved one step closer to securing its second consecutive berth in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on Sunday afternoon as the Dragons pulled out a 1-0 victory on the road at UNCW. It was the third straight victory for Drexel, which now sits alone in second place in the conference with 13 points and a 4-1-1 league record.

Rachel Sharkey scored the game's lone goal on Sunday, her first collegiate goal and first game-winner. Christiana Ogunsami made five saves, including four in the second half, as she and the Drexel defense helped fend off the Seahawks' furious second-half attack. It was Ogunsami's seventh shutout of the season and third in a row.

A quiet first half saw the Seahawks outshoot Drexel 5-3, but each team managed just one shot on goal as the scoreboard stayed empty through the first 45 minutes. Moments after halftime, the Dragons nearly took a lead when Vanessa Kara's shot beat UNCW goalkeeper Sydney Schneider, but was cleared off the goal line by an alert Seahawk defender. She took another shot in the 47th minute that Schneider reeled in to keep the game scoreless.

With 40:42 to play, UNCW got the first of seven corner kicks in less than eight minutes, part of a frenetic series that tested Ogunsami and the determination of the Drexel defense. The first two corners went without UNCW getting a shot off, but Drexel could not clear the ball. On the third attempt, Ogunsami was called upon to make the first of three saves during that stretch.

The Seahawks' best chances came in a span from the 52nd through the 56th minutes when they got off four shots that tested the Dragons' defensive focus and fortune. Blair Pearce hit the post with a shot at the 51:58 mark, and the rebound was knocked by Serenity Waters straight into the body of a Drexel defender who blocked what could have been a go-ahead shot. Yet another Seahawks corner ensued, and this one appeared to beat Ogunsami before a Drexel defender returned the favor of earlier in the half and lunged in to chip the ball out of the goal mouth and back in play.

That settled things for a moment, but a fourth shot three minutes later by the Seahawks once again nearly put them on top if not for the crossbar, which sent the ball screaming back onto the field. The rebound went to Molly McGarry, whose shot was deflected up and over the goal by Ogunsami, preventing a goal but setting up another corner. Another blocked shot led to still another corner, this one resulting in a shot from Kirsten Bootes that Ogunsami once again poked away before a final UNCW shot in the sequence went off the foot of Baley Edwards and wide of the net, giving the teams a chance to catch their breath.

Though UNCW was unable to pay off on its eight second-half corner chances, the Dragons found the back of the net on just their second. It came in the 70th minute, when Kara put the ball in play and connected with Imani Walker, who tapped it over to Sharkey for the goal. Suddenly, after surviving the Seahawks' onslaught for most of the second half, the Dragons found themselves with a one-goal lead.

UNCW managed just one more shot, a blocked attempt off the foot of Lauren Ellis in the 76 th minute, as Drexel finished off the game with relative ease.

The Dragons will return to Vidas Field for their final home game of the regular season next Sunday, Oct. 15, as the Dragons host the College of Charleston. That game, which will be preceded by Senior Day ceremonies, will kick off at 1 p.m.