DETROIT (9/8/16) – The University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team scored three second-half markers to fend off Northwood University 4-3 on Thursday afternoon from Titan Field.
The Titans outshot the Timberwolves 23-3 and earned 14 corner kicks to the visitors' zero, but Northwood proved to be pesky as they hung around thanks to three goals on three shots in the match.
Junior captain
Phylisha Drayton erased an early Timberwolves' goal by forcing a turnover and firing a shot past the keeper to even the score at 1-1 in the 13
th minute.
The score would hold until after halftime, when the Titans began pouring on the pressure offensively. Sophomore
Carly Fiorido moved forward and scored her first collegiate goal in the 55
th minute off a pass from senior
Mary LeAnnais, before senior
Anna Mindling put the Titans ahead 3-1 on a feed from classmate
Carley Rice in the 58
th minute.
Alyssa Cowper brought Northwood back within one in the 60
th minute, beating the keeper to the ball and sliding it into an empty net. The marker capped a back-and-forth pace that saw three goals in just over five minutes of play.
LeAnnais found Mindling with an entry pass from midfield in the 71
st minute, with Mindling burying her second marker of the game to add an insurance goal to the Titans' lead.
Northwood made one last push in the match and scored on a spectacular shot from Jessica Flores into the upper 90 from 25 yards in the 78
th minute.
The Titans outshot the Timberwolves 16-2 in the second half alone and earned five corners to create plenty of scoring chances.
Mindling led the offense with two goals, her third and fourth of the season, and set a career-high with five shots on net. She also tied a career-high with eight shots in the game, matching her total from Oct. 6, 2015 vs. Madonna.
Drayton and Fiorido each had three shots in the match and added a goal. Drayton's was her first of the season and Fiorido's was the first of her 23-game career.
LeAnnais assisted on two goals, while Rice added the final helper in the match.
With the win, Detroit Mercy improves to 2-4 on the season and will look to continue the momentum on Sunday in East Lansing, as the Titans hit the road to take on the Spartans at 1 p.m. from DeMartin Stadium.
