DELHI, N.Y. (October 30, 2021) – Saturday's NAC West Women's Soccer Tournament opener between SUNY Delhi and SUNY Poly was nothing like their regular-season contest from two weeks ago, nor what Delhi might have expected. While the Broncos cruised to a 6-1 win over the Wildcats back on Oct. 16, it was the top-seeded green and gold that needed to rally after an early Poly goal, responding with three unanswered scores, including two in the last ten-and-a-half minutes, for a 3-1 win. Head coach Zach Ward's team travels to Cazenovia College Sunday, Oct. 31 to face the two-seed Caz Wildcats at 12:00 p.m. after the latter's Saturday victory over three-seeded SUNY Canton, 2-1.
Rain showers the night before and recurring rain during warmups and the first half left SUNY Delhi's pitch muddy and slick, though nothing the Broncos haven't been used to. What they weren't used to, however, was trailing early, as Poly's Kate Donnelly painted a 25-30 yard ball to the top right corner past the outstretched arms of keeper Rachael Scoones for a 1-0 lead at 14:42. The Broncos, who had been hammering away with shots and corner kicks throughout the first half, put their patience and skills to the test by continuing to pester the Wildcats for that equalizer. Delhi finally hit paydirt late in the first half on their ninth corner kick chance, when Olivia Curry's delivery found the head of Alexa DuBois and a straight line to the goal to tie the match up with 2:17 remaining in the opening half. DuBois nearly had a second goal moments later with a laser shot that just made contact with the crossbar and Poly's goalie Michalyn Fagan recovering it in time when it rebounded back down towards the goal line.
The chase was on in the second half, as the rain subsided and gave way to clearer skies. Coach Ward changed up his personnel. The one notable was inserting the speedy Dayanara Garcia to the forward spot and moving the just-as-quick starting forward Kelsey Innes to midfield. This, balanced with DuBois commanding the center of the field, set the Wildcats on their heels every time the ball was lofted towards their box. The crucial moment came with 10:30 remaining, when Scoones booted a ball that reached Becky Drumm past midfield, who set up a pass to the cruising Innes, beating the approaching Fagan to the ball and connecting for the go-ahead score. Innes then teamed up with Garcia to put the match out of reach nearly three minutes later. The senior received a cross from the left side, making a move past a defender and getting a shot off that deflected off Fagan where Garcia gathered the rebound to take the two-goal lead with 7:51 to play.
"That's the type of performance we've come to expect from this version of Delhi women's soccer," related Coach Ward. "SUNY Poly was able to keep it close and made it really difficult the majority of the way, but we've always found a way to keep pushing and finish on top. As coaches, we're really pleased with the response after going down 1-nil. Kelsey has meant so much to this program over her time here and I think it's really fitting that she was able to get one of the last goals scored on the grass this year, a goal that ended up being the game winner after creating so many chances today. We aren't all about handing out 'game balls' but I really want to acknowledge Kelsey Innes, Alivia Cordero and Reanen Goodspeed for their performances. Our attention now turns to tomorrow. We still have some business to take care of in the West."
The Broncos finished the day ahead 28-9 in the shots category, including 15-6 in shots on goal, and held a commanding 11-0 advantage in corner kicks, including nine in the opening half alone. Scoones finished with five saves, bringing her goalie record to 10-5 on the season. SUNY Delhi improved to 11-5 on the year, putting them one win away from matching the program record for wins in a season set by the 2006 program. Saturday's victory, in all likelihood, also marked the final soccer game played on SUNY Delhi's grass field, with the long-awaited turf field slated to break ground early 2022 to be ready for next fall season.
Delhi returns to the Cazenovia College campus to determine the NAC West representative for the overall conference championship next Saturday against the NAC East victor in either Husson and Maine Maritime. The Broncos' last trip to Caz proved fruitful in a 1-0 win over the Wildcats back on Oct. 2, decided on a Garcia goal in the 79th minute and ten saves from Scoones.
