Delta Surges to the Home Victory over Muskegon

The Lady Pioneers entered Wednesday's contest 2-0 and looking to make their first impression in front of the home faithful a positive one.

After starting out the game a little flat, the Pioneers started the scoring off in the first quarter with a nice through-ball pass from Delaney Gravlin over the top of the flat four defense to Hope Emington who finished for the goal, giving Delta a 1-0 advantage in the 20th minute. The scoring run continued three minutes later, when Taylor Farrand got one past the goalie on the feed from Madison Tweddle for the 2-0 lead.

Casey Allessie picked up the third goal of the afternoon for the Lady Pioneers when Skylar Eckert found her for the touch finish past the goalie in the 34th minute. Emington then added an assist to Sophomore Paige Renshaw for the fourth and final goal of the first half for the Pioneers. The halftime score was 4-1 in favor of the Lady Pioneers, after a goal for the Jayhawks, the first goal scored on the Delta defense all season.

The second half started with a quick strike from Taylor Farrand, her second goal of the game, this one coming off the pass of Renshaw to give Delta a 5-1 lead. The 6th and final goal of the afternoon came courtesy of Audrey Niederstadt in the 69th minute, who had a beautiful shot from 35 yards, to beat the keeper to the high, far post.

Delta  keepers Kalyn Breckenridge and Hannah Bauer each ended the game with 3 saves, playing solid in the backline for the Lady Pioneers against the strong Muskegon attack.

"I was extremely pleased with the effort of the team today," Head Coach Paul Stenglein said after the game. "We had five different scorers today, and that scoring balance will certainly pay dividends during our season."

Delta has now outscored their opponents 17-2 on the season and look to continue their hot start on Friday, September 1, against the Jackson College Jets.

"I am excited to see how this team plays against a tough Jackson team on Friday," Stenglein added. "This should be a great test for us, and a good indicator of what parts need the most attention. Right now we are excited to start our season 3-0."

A season ago, the two schools split the matchups each scoring two goals, setting the stage for an exciting matchup next game.