Box score

DOVER, DE—NJIT fought back from a 3-1 halftime deficit, scoring three second-half goals Friday night to pull out a 4-3 win at Delaware State in Great West Conference women's soccer action.

 

The Highlanders, who are 1-1 in the GWC East Division, scored the first goal of the match, getting on the board in the sixth minute, only to see Delaware State, which was playing its first conference contest, score three times in the last 21 minutes of the first half.

 

The situation at halftime appeared dire for the Highlanders, who needed at least two goals to tie and had not scored more than twice in any of their previous 11 games.

 

But score is exactly what NJIT did, finding the back of the net three times in the first 17 minutes of the second half. Piper Lunan got the comeback started on an unassisted goal just 36 seconds after play resumed. The goal, a solo effort that saw her dribble through the defense, was the first of the season for the speedy junior.

 

Lunan assisted sophomore Erin Morris on the tying goal that came in the 58th minute, setting the stage for the game-winner as a pair of freshmen, Camille Billing and Erin Schmitt connected at 63:29. Billing was credited with her second goal, while Schmitt picked up her first college assist.

 

Despite scoring the go-ahead goal, the Highlanders stayed aggressive, attempting four more shots that were saved by Delaware State's keeper, Courtney Haas. On the defensive end, NJIT limited the Hornets to one off-target shot over the final 26:31.

 

NJIT's first goal, in the first half, was the team-leading third for sophomore Amanda Dotten, who scored off a corner kick, assisted by Meryl Hershfield at 5:25.

 

All three Hornet goals were unassisted and the first two came on shots from outside the goal area. The first, by Candace Wyre, was a 25-yarder at 24:01. The second, by Theresa Wappett, came from 20 yards away at 32:01. And the final Delaware State tally was from closer, a 10-yard shot by Jeanette Salgado just 24 seconds before halftime.

 

NJIT, now 2-9-1 overall, got one save from senior goalkeeper Sadie Mele. Her Delaware State counterpart, Haas, made seven saves as the Hornets fell to 1-12 overall on the season.

 

The overall shots favored NJIT, 21-5, including an 11-4 margin in shots on goal. The Highlanders also had a 7-1 edge in corner kicks on the Hornets.

 

NJIT has a week off now before hosting South Carolina State on Friday night, October 15 at 7 pm in another Great West Conference East Division match on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium.