Cheers could be heard echoing across the Lyndon campus Wednesday afternoon as the NVU-Lyndon women’s soccer team secured their first victory of the season 2-0 against sister school rival NVU-Johnson. Both NVU teams now sit at a record of 1-7 for the season so far.
NVU-Johnson was the first to try and get a shot at the Hornets within the first minutes of the game, but Freshman Riann Fortin (#22) was quick to assert dominance over the visiting Badgers. She made her own shot at the Johnson goal, protected by Emily Carchia (#1), but to no avail. But Fortin was back again only a few minutes later, running onto a throw from senior Arianna Moran (#10) and scoring just over 11 minutes into the first half. Fortin would continue her reign with a sole breakaway at 14:49 to score the game’s second goal, bringing Lyndon up 2-0. Neither NVU team would let the other score for the remainder of the half.
Both teams returned to the field for the second half with a fire lit under them. Once again, it was Johnson first on the offensive as Margaret Egan (#8) would take two shots on goal. Sophomore Lyndon goalie Karly Cordwell (#0) was quick to respond on both occasions and prevented Egan from scoring Johnson’s first point of the game. Fortin would lead the Hornets in another offensive attack of their own, firing two more shots at Carchia. With only minutes remaining in the half, Badger Dulce Nino (#18) shot at the top middle of the goal. Fans on both sides audibly gasped in fear and excitement, almost all assuming that would be Johnson’s first point. However, Cordwell stood firm and jumped at the ball to barely nick it over the net. Cordwell recorded five total saves in the second half, solidifying the score at 2-0.
With this win, the Hornets also score a point for the Lyndon campus in the President’s Cup Challenge. The President’s Cup was founded with the merging of the Lyndon and Johnson campuses, meant to “formalize the rivalry between the campuses and athletic programs.” The score currently sits 1-1, Johnson having secured a point for women’s tennis in mid-September. Fans can keep track of the points all year by clicking here.
The Hornets return to Varsity Field this weekend for two North Atlantic Conference home games. NVU-Lyndon currently sits at a 0-4 conference record this season. On Saturday, October 9 at 1:00 PM, the Hornets will face off against SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Then, a noon kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, October 10, against Cazenovia College.
Feature Photo by Alexandra Huff || NVU-Lyndon junior Madison Reardon (#6) guards NVU-Johnson’s Priya Tamang-Saurez (#2) from the ball.