PHILADELPHIA, PA. 10/9/2016 – The Drexel Dragons appeared to be on their way to a CAA victory. That was taken away with less than 2 seconds to play when UNCW Seahawks forward Meg Salvador in a crowd in front of the net headed the ball over the outstretched arms of Drexel Dragons goal keeper Christiana Ogunsami. The result was a 1 – 1 draw in double overtime on Alumni Day at the Vidas sports complex.
“You can’t do anything to take the goal back, all you can do is work on the effort moving forward,” said Drexel Coach Ray Goon about the team facing such adversity. “Our team focused on that and sometimes that’s the way the ball bounces.”
Despite the late break against them, Drexel continued to fight through and got an opportunity on a high cross by midfielder Kylie Strong less than four minutes into the extra period. The ball sailed wide.
Drexel got the lead in the 62nd minute when forward Shaelyn McCarty came in on the left wing shot the ball into net past the UNCW goal keeper. The goal was unassisted and was her team-best sixth goal of the season. The Dragons went on defense, but the Seawhawks put on offensive pressure over the last ten minutes of the game. UNCW (8 – 3 – 3, 2 – 1 – 2) also had the aid of brisk wind at their back. The pressure finally paid off with the goal just before the horn sounded.
“The elements always play a factor,” Goon said about the wind late in the game. “You can’t let that get to you. You have to be able to deal with it. It helped them, but we had a half with the wind as well.”
Ogunsami faced 14 UNCW shots and had 6 saves. The Dragons had 9 shots and forced Seahawks goal keeper Lisa Rahkola to make 3 saves.
Although Drexel (8 – 5 – 2, 4 – 1 – 1) did not get the win, they did avoid a loss and sit in second place in the CAA standings, 2 points behind league leading Northeastern and 4 ahead of third-place James Madison. The Dragons go on the road next week visiting Elon and William and Mary.
“We are not going to be worried about woulda, coulda, shoulda, we got the points,” said Goon. “It’s better than losing. We have to keep moving forward and get ready for next weekend.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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