Delta Uses Strong Second Half to Defeat Ancilla 4-1

Coming off of a strong showing against the Jets from Jackson in their last contest, they knew they couldn't afford a letdown against a Chargers team who has played well to start the season thanks to a very good defensive group.

10 minutes into the game, Skylar Eckert picked up right where she left off from last game, driving in deep in the opponent's zone and sent a dangerous cross to the far post where Lindsey Musser was waiting to put the Lady Pioneers on the board. Delta would continue to have strong scoring chances but were turned away by good play in the Net by Chargers keeper Katie Berg. Ancilla would even the score in the closing minutes when Haley Abel broke through the midfield would break through the Delta back line and fire one off the far post and into the net to even the score at 1 going into the half. At the half, Delta knew they had to make adjustments and come out quickly as this game was very important for them to stay in the MCCAA Conference Title race.

And respond quickly they did, with a sense of urgency and an increase crispness with their passes, Delta got on the board eight minutes into the half. Nicole Hill would send a great corner into the box and Taylor Farrand would collect it and send it to the far corner of the goal, giving Delta the lead. This early goal forced Ancilla to commit more players to the offensive end, leaving them more vulnerable for attacks.

"I was pleased with the effort from the team today, and we will take this game and make adjustments to get ready for other critical upcoming games," Head Coach Paul Stenglein said after the game.

In the 62nd minute, Eckert sent a deep cross to Kaitlyn Viaene who drove a hard shot past the keeper giving the Lady Pioneers a two goal advantage. The final goal of the game was scored in the 84th minute when Elena Lippert drove past two defenders to find an opening to take the shot to the far corner of the goal.

"Defensively, we had a rock solid back five including our keeper," Stenglein added. "Our three sophomore captains, Delaney Gravlin, Hannah Rousse, and Brianna Redmond are the foundation of our strong defensive group. The addition of solid freshman like keeper Kalyn Breckenridge, holding mids Jessie McInnis and Kyla Breckenridge have created a defensive group that is getting harder to beat. We will continue to strengthen this group, and work to have a more patient and unpredictable attacking approach to our game. This should continue to improve our capability to control the play in our upcoming games.

Coming up next for the Lady Pioneers is a showdown with Division 3 Cincinnati State on September 30 at 1pm at Delta.