DOVER, Del. (October 13, 2024) – The Stonehill College women's soccer team earned a decisive 5-1 victory over Delaware State Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Skyhawks improved to 6-8 overall and 5-1 in Northeast Conference play, while the Hornets dropped to 0-13-1 overall and 0-5-1 against conference opponents.

Highlights

• Stonehill's victory over Delaware State marked its fourth consecutive win and fifth win in NEC play this season.
• The Skyhawks' four-game win streak marks the longest since the 2019 campaign when Stonehill registered a six-game winning streak.
• The Skyhawks' sixth win overall marks the most in a single season since 2021, when they finished the year with a record of 8-8-2.
• Junior Hannah Anselmo recorded her second two-goal game of the season, while graduate student Emmy Dumaresq netted her first goal.
• Anselmo finished the conference contest, matching her single-game career-high mark of six shots on goal.
• Sophomore Emma Cranston and freshman Erin Foley notched their second and third goals of the season, respectively.  
• The Skyhawks goalkeeping duo of first-year student Allie Sougaris and sophomore Kelsey Bello split time in goal and picked up the win tallying two saves on the day.
• First-year forward Nileigha Williams scored the lone goal for the Hornets.
• First-year goalkeeper Katie Knapp tallied 13 saves in goal for Delaware State. Knapp's 13 saves on the day marks her fifth game of the season, making ten or more saves.

How it Happened
Stonehill wasted little time jumping out to an early lead at Delaware State, as just eight minutes into the conference matchup, the Skyhawks would take a two-goal lead. In the fifth minute of action, Foley drew a foul within the 18-yard box and scored her third goal of the season on a penalty kick before Anselmo danced through the Hornet's defense and scored her first of two goals on the day at the 7:52 mark.

On a Stonehill corner kick in the 38th minute, Knapp would come up with an excellent position-diving save to keep the Delaware State deficit at two. However, on a second corner, just one minute later, Dumaresq would bank a shot into the back of the net off a Hornet defender, registering her first goal of the season and giving the Skyhawks a three-goal lead.

At the 43:17 mark, Delaware State would cut into its three-goal deficit when Williams retrieved a loose ball off a corner kick and sent a shot over an outstretched Sougaris in goal for Stonehill. Williams' goal marked the first of her collegiate career and sent the game into the half at a score of 3-1 in favor of the Skyhawks.

Coming out of the break, Stonehill looked to regain its early momentum and extend its advantage on the scoreboard. At the 52:14 mark, Anselmo narrowly extended the Skyhawk's lead to three with a boot from 20 yards out. However, Knapp would make an incredible leaping save to punch the ball over the crossbar and out from the back of the net.

Following a grade-A scoring opportunity from senior Karleigh Schultz at the 61:15 mark of the second half, the Skyhawks would find the back of the net four minutes later and tack onto their lead. Cranston would retrieve a defensive zone turnover by the Hornets and rifle a left-footed shot into the left corner of the Hornets net to increase the Stonehill lead to 4-1.

Anselmo capped off her two-goal game and the scoring for the Skyhawks at the 78:21 mark of the contest when she battled her way through the defense and sent a left-footed shot past a diving sophomore Shelby Pollard in goal. Stonehill's defense closed out the second half, only allowing three shot attempts to help secure the convincing 5-1 over Delaware State.  

Up Next
Stonehill (6-8-0, 5-1-0 NEC) returns to action on Thursday, hosting FDU in Easton, Massachusetts. The opening kickoff between the Skyhawks and Knights is set for 6 p.m., under the lights at WB Mason Stadium.  

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