Looking to win its first road game of the season and bounce back from last week’s loss, the VMI women’s soccer team claimed a 4-0 victory Thursday night over host Delaware State to give head coach Chris Haught-Thompson his first career win at the helm of the program.
“We did well to rebound from last Thursday,” said Haught-Thompson. “Though we had to figure out a couple things about their system in the first half, we had a lot of opportunities throughout and finally broke through. I loved the identity we brought in the second half and started to show signs of how we want to play and scored some great goals.”
Both teams nearly went scoreless in the opening half until VMI freshman Maggie Beckman took a rebound off a Kiley Cropper shot attempt and put the ball in the net with only 1:09 before the half to give VMI some momentum.
Early in the second half, sophomore forward Whitney Edwards-Roberson broke away and managed to chip a shot over Hornet keeper Franchesska Ramirez into the net for a 2-0 advantage. Just minutes later (58th minute), Cropper took a cross from freshman Sam Fee on a corner kick and sent it out of Ramirez’ reach and into the net for a commanding 3-0 lead midway through the half.
Sophomore Maria Vargas would go on to score an unassisted security goal in the 74th minute from 30 yards out for the game’s final tally. The Keydets earned 17 shot attempts throughout the match and held Delaware State to just three.
In her second complete game, VMI freshman goalie Noelle Heilpern earned her first career shutout at VMI and recorded one save to preserve the win.
The Keydets continue their road swing Saturday when they play at American University with a 1 p.m. kick in Washington, D.C.
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