Drexel women pick up three wins in eight days

After settling for draws in two overtime matches in the first two weeks of the season, the Drexel women’s soccer team pick up a pair of thrilling overtime wins in a three-win week last week.

Senior Shaelyn McCarty (Doylestown, Pa.) scored the first overtime winner against La Salle in the 103rd minute last Monday to break a scoreless tie and hand the Explorers their first lost of the season. McCarty also assisted on the golden goal in their 1-0 win over Maryland at home on Sunday, setting up Morgan Rees for the winner in the 94th minute. She leads the team with three goals and an assist on the year.

The Dragons’ win over St. John’s last Thursday was just their second game of the season that didn’t go to overtime. Kiera Hennessy led the offense in that one with a first half brace, finding the back of the net in the 11th and 27th minutes while senior Emma Heckenberg had assists on both goals.

Drexel returns to action on Thursday against local rivals Saint Joseph’s, which suffered their first setback of the season on Friday with a 3-0 loss at nationally ranked Princeton.

In other local Division 1 women’s soccer action from last week:

-Villanova split a pair of 1-0 away games ahead of their Friday night showdown with Virginia Tech at Talen Energy Stadium (5 p.m.). They fell Friday night to Clemson in front of 3,118 fans at Historic Riggs Field on a 68th minute goal from Mariana Speckmaier but returned to the win column and improved to 4-2-0 on the season with a 1-0 overtime win at Brown behind a 93rd minute overtime goal from Jasmine Ruiz. Kristin Barbour was credited with an assist on the indirect free kick in the box and she and goalkeeper Hensley Hancuff both were recognized with Big East weekly honors for their play in the two games.

-Tziarra King’s third-minute goal for N.C. State — the fourth of the year for the Sicklerville, N.J. native — was the difference in the first loss of the season for Penn at home on Friday night.

-La Salle returned to the win column after their overtime defeat to Drexel with a 2-1 come from behind overtime win over Colgate on Thursday. Camaren Cox (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) found an equalizer on a rebound from eight yards out in the 77th minute for her second of the year and Madison Bower picked up the winner in the 98th minute off an assist from Jenna Soriano. The goal was the fourth of the season for Bower.

-Temple split a pair of weekend home games, beating Maryland 1-0 on Friday night and losing to Central Connecticut State 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. Emma Wilkins (Galloway, N.J.) scored the game winner on Friday in the 38th minute on Friday on an assist by Gabriela Johnson (Mays Landing, N.J.) and Morgan Basileo (Philadelphia, Pa.) made eight saves to keep her second clean sheet of the season. Wilkins scored her fourth goal of the season in the loss on Sunday.