BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College is going to take a look back at its 2017-18 athletic campaign over the next eight weeks with a pair of top 10 lists voted on by the athletic administration. The first list starting today will be the Top 10 Exciting Games from the past year with a look at our No. 10 highlight – the women's soccer team defeating rival Muhlenberg College, 1-0 in overtime.
The Greyhounds, who completed the 2017 campaign at 9-6-1 overall, played four overtime games last fall with a 1-2-1 record in those contests. Moravian posted shutouts in all nine of its victories last fall. The victory over Muhlenberg improved the team's record to 4-0-1 at the time and extended the Greyhounds' shutout string to 472:30 as the squad posted its fifth straight clean sheet to begin the season.
On the humid and foggy evening of September 13, the Hounds welcomed the Mules to the turf on John Makuvek Field for a match under the lights. Moravian had a the first two shots of the match but it would be Muhlenberg putting the first shot on net with Greyhounds' senior goalie Jessica Lawton making the save. Each team had four shots in the first 45 minutes of action with Lawton making a pair of saves.
The Hounds started the second half with a quick shot before the Mules countered with sophomore goalie Jamie Daly making her first save of the contest for Moravian. The Greyhounds finally put a shot on goal in the 49th minute when junior forward Gabby Stelzmiller fired on net. Stelzmiller added another shot on the goalie 10 minutes later, and sophomore midfielder Kristen Parry and freshman defender Sara Cassel also put shots on the goal in the second half with Cassel nearly winning the contest in the 84th minute. Daly finished the half with three saves while Moravian had an 11-7 advantage in shots through a regulation 90 minutes of play.
The overtime session belonged to the Greyhounds. Cassel drilled a shot over the cross bar just 1:22 in overtime. A minute later, Stelzmiller took a corner kick with freshman midfielder Caitlyn Sugarman getting a shot on goal. Sophomore defender Paige Weiss followed up the rebound with another shot on goal, and with the ball bouncing around in front of the net, freshman forward Lauren Haley finally put the ball in for the game-winner, her first collegiate goal.
"It was another intense battle with Muhlenberg," stated Head Coach Jeff Ykoruk. "After an evenly played first half, our depth allowed us to break them down. We outshot them 11-4 and out-corned them 8-0 in the second half and overtime. Once overtime started, we held the advantage of having fresh legs and finished the game two minutes into the first overtime. It was a special moment celebrating the win, especially for our senior class."
Read the original game story at http://moraviansports.com/sports/wsoc/2017-18/releases/20170913y3mjsx with links to stats, photos and the game video.
The number nine highlight in the top 10 exciting games of 2017-18 will be released on Monday, June 11.