VALPARAISO, Ind. (9/24/16) – The University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory in a physical road match at Valparaiso University on Saturday night in Horizon League action.
Junior
Rachel DeLuca converted on a penalty kick less than a minute into overtime, beating the keeper with a shot into the lower left side of net to seal the win for the Titans.
After a scoreless first half, senior
Anna Mindling opened scoring in the 64
th minute after splitting three defenders and sniping a shot into the upper 90. Valparaiso evened the score at 1-1 with a goal in the 88
th minute as Grace Rogers headed home a corner kick.
The tilt was a very physical affair as the teams combined for 35 fouls and seven total cautions. The Titans turned in another strong defensive effort as they bottled up the Crusaders' offense throughout the match.
Junior
Marina Manzo earned the win after making three saves and allowing one goal from net.
Mindling's goal was her seventh of the season, making her the first Titan with seven or more goals in a season since Titan Hall of Famer Mary Parker in 2006.
Detroit Mercy earned the win after holding a 13-8 edge in shots, including an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal.
With the win, Detroit Mercy evens its record on the season at 5-5-1 and improves to 1-0-1 in league play.
The victory increases the Titans win streak to three, two of which have been overtime road wins. The decision also pushes Detroit Mercy's unbeaten streak to four, including the Titans' road draw in their Horizon League opener at Wright State.
The win is also the Titans first at Valparaiso since 2014 when the squad defeated Oakland in the Horizon League semifinals from Brown Field, which was also decided on a PK in overtime.
The Titans return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 28 vs. Youngstown State. The match is slated as the team's "pink game" and is set to begin at 3 p.m. from Titan Field.
