NEWARK, Del. - - Loran Wyrough's mark in the 60th minute stood tall as the Wilmington University women's soccer team ended the 2017 regular season with a 1-0 victory over Jefferson at the WU Athletics Complex on Tuesday afternoon.
The win is the sixth straight for the Wildcats (12-5-1, 10-2 CACC), giving them a chance to finish second overall in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference standings. The loss drops Jefferson (9-7, 8-4 CACC) to the No. 5 seed and they will head to No. 4 Goldey-Beacom for the CACC Tournament First Round.
The Wildcats are currently tied with Holy Family in the standings with 30 points. The Tigers play CACC leaders Georgian Court on Friday in their regular season finale. The Wildcats hold the head-to-head tiebreaker of the Tigers, so a Holy Family loss would mean a second place finish for the Wildcats. A Tigers win or tie on Friday would drop the Wildcats to third. Either way, the Wildcats host a CACC Tournament First Round game on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats had multiple chances in the first half, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Wildcats ended up out shooting the Rams, 5-2, in the half, but it was a non-shot that proved to be the best opportunity. Rebecca Dolhansky had the ball on the right side with Wyrough in front of the goal on a 2-on-0. But Wyrough was unable to get a toe on the pass, and the match went to the halftime break scoreless.
Each team had a chance in the early going of the second half, but a Melissa Gall shot sailed high while the Rams' Jessica Monteleone's did the same. The scoreless tie finally broke in the 60th minute.
With the ball near midfield, Gabrielle Bluford played a through ball down the left side to a hard charging Wyrough. The redshirt senior found herself alone in on the keeper, and deposited it to the far post for her 16th goal of the year and the 1-0 lead.
That goal was stand for the Wildcats, as they picked up the 1-0 victory. They out shot the Rams, 10-4, for the match, despite being out-cornered, 6-5. Kierstyn Williams recorded her sixth lone shutout of the season, seventh overall, with two saves.
The win was the sixth straight for the Wildcats heading into the postseason. It was also their fourth shutout during their six-game winning streak.
Holy Family and Georgian Court play on Friday afternoon, with the Wildcats' seed and opponent to be determined with the outcome of that contest.
Continue to log onto athletics.wilmu.edu for all the Wildcats' postseason information.
