Box Score Lexington, Va. – Abbie McCrea's second half goal lifted Winthrop women's soccer to its first win of the season, 2-1 at VMI Saturday afternoon.
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Winthrop (1-1-1, 0-0-0 Big South) 2, VMI (1-2-0, 0-0-0 SoCon) 1
Aug. 26, 2023 | Drill Field #2
Scoring Summary
16' – VMI – Dancu (Callejo)
25' – WINTHROP – Balliet (Taylor)
59' – WINTHROP – McCrea (Kelly)
Game Recap
- The Eagles nearly grabbed an early lead in the 6th minute when Ally Bender fired a shot from about 25-30 yards out that hit the crossbar and bounced out as the goalkeeper collected the ball
- The Keydets struck first in the 16th minute as Sedona Dancu received a pass out wide to the left from Barrett Collejo as she dribbled and then beat a Winthrop defender back to the middle of the field and fired a shot into the top left corner
- Eagles did equalize in the 25th minute when Sophia Balliet collected a long ball by Lauren Kelly, dribbled into the box to the left of goal as she struck a shot on frame
- The shot by Balliet was right at the keeper, but she didn't handle the shot well and the ball slipped behind her into the net
- Eagles had a 9-4 advantage in shots with shots on goal even (4-4) over the first 45 minutes as the game was tied 1-1 at the half
- Eagles applied pressure offensively within minutes into the second half as Hannah Taylor just missed wide of the left post on a shot from just inside the top of the box
- Winthrop grabbed a 2-1 advantage in the 59th minute when Lauren Kelly collected a loose ball and as she approached midfield she slipped a through ball to Abbie McCrea into open space
- McCrea ran onto the ball, took a couple of dribbles and after crossing into the box she placed a shot into the lower left corner
- From there the Eagles continued to put on pressure offensively and control most of the game until the final whistle
Notables
- Eagles finished with a 19-12 advantage in shots and 11-6 in shots on goal
- Izzy Giarrizzi finished with five saves in the match
- Winthrop has now won seven of the last eight games in its first road contest of the season
- Eagles are 7-1-1 in their first road game since 2015
- Balliet scored her second goal of the season and now leads the team
Looking Ahead
Eagles return home to take on Southern Wesleyan on Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+.
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