A strong defensive effort nearly carried the VMI Keydets to victory, but an 83rd minute goal was the difference as the Furman Paladins managed a 1-0 victory in SoCon women’s soccer action Tuesday at the OrthoCarolina Sports Complex in Pineville, N.C. The game was the makeup date of a contest postponed during early October due to the South Carolina flooding.
The Keydets (5-10, 1-5 SoCon) had held the Paladins (10-4-1, 3-1-1), who have wins over Oklahoma and North Florida on their ledger this season, to just five shots on goal until the 83rd minute. Furman’s Sanon Williams made a pass from the left side of the box to Natalie Lackey, who beat a Keydet defender and put the ball past Darien Dunham for the eventual game-winning goal.
“We played an excellent match today,” said VMI head coach Chris Bergmann. “We fought exceptionally well throughout the match and forced a strong Furman squad into poor shots. Our team also generated goal scoring opportunities, and we just were not able to turn them into shots on goal.”
Dunham finished with five saves in the setback, while Maggie Grisell was not forced to make a stop for Furman. The Paladins finished with a 5-3 edge in corner kicks during the contest.
Furman peppered the VMI net in the early going, testing Dunham four times in the first 27:56. The Keydet goalie stopped all four tries, and a shot by current SoCon Player of the Week Stephanie DeVita hit the crossbar as well as the match remained scoreless. The teams then combined for just three shots over the final 17-plus minutes of the first half, as the contest went to halftime 0-0.
Dunham stopped an Emily Graves try in the 55th minute, a shot would be the last on goal until the game-winning try. Graves also bounced a shot off the post at 59:20, while the Keydets had efforts from Sam Boney and Sydnie Bligh go astray, setting the stage for the eventual game-winner from Lackey.
VMI women’s soccer will return to action Friday, when the Keydets play host to their archrivals, The Citadel Bulldogs, at Patchin Field. Game time is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be on ESPN3.
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