Bangor. ME – The SUNY Delhi women's soccer team made history winning the North Atlantic Conference Championship game at Husson University with a 3-2 overtime win. This victory will send the Broncos to their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, marking the first Broncos team sport to qualify for that opportunity.
The women battled hard falling behind twice in the game and coming back both times. Husson jumped out to an early lead when they scored in just the seventh minute, but they would fail to score again and the game went to the half 1-0.
Nine minutes into the second half, Kelsey Innes, Delhi's all-time goal scoring leader, netted the equalizer giving the Broncos new life. However, five minutes later Husson took the lead again, going up 2-1. That score would hold until the 88th minute when Shaniyah Myers took a pass from Innes and leveled the score just before the season ran out, sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, Olivia LeBrun converted a pass from Micayla Slattery to score what proved to be the game winner and give the Broncos their first ever North Atlantic Conference title in women's soccer.
The Broncos were led by goalkeeper Andraya Hunt, who recorded eight saves on the day, while the Delhi attack managed to convert three of their four shots on goal into the net.
When asked about the day, coach Ward said "The support today was unreal and I am so thankful to all the parents that made the long trip and for our men's program and their enthusiasm and support on the sideline. In preseason we set the goal as NAC or bust and asked what we were willing to do to make it a reality. We talked a lot this week about making today a day we will always remember and nobody can take these memories from these players."
In regards to fight the team showed, he added, "This group fought back from being down twice and each member committed to doing their job and I couldn't be prouder. I am so grateful to be a part of this program and look forward to getting to train for at least one more week!"
Kelsey Innes was named the MVP of the NAC Tournment, while Ayla Vorisek, Olivia Curry and Olivia LeBrun were named to the all-tournament team.
The team will find out where they are headed next when the selection show takes place on Monday. What they do know is they will hear their name called for the NCAA Tournament, a first for a team sport in SUNY Delhi's history.
