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The DU women’s soccer team traveled to Louisiana this weekend, where it completed a sweep against Sun Belt Conference opponents Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe.
After starting off down a goal against ULL on Friday, the Pioneers won the game 2-1 in double overtime.
Sophomore forward Kristen Hamilton evened the score in the 13th minute and kicked the winning goal in the 109th minute.
“We didn’t panic after we missed some chances in overtime, remained calm and walked the winning goal into the net,” said head coach Jeff Hooker.
Junior goalkeeper Lara Campbell saved two shots in the match, and sophomore forward Cassidy Larson and sophomore midfielder Nicholette DiGiacomo assisted Hamilton in her two goals.
On Sunday, the Pioneers rolled through ULM, winning 3-0 to complete the road sweep.
Junior forward Kalie Vaughn and sophomore midfielders Stephanie Wood and DiGiacomo scored the goals for DU with the first two assists coming from Hamilton. Despite scoring early, the team played much stronger in the second half, according to Hooker.
“They made it very difficult for us in the first half,” she said. “We were still able to get an early goal. Ultimately in the second half, I think we played a lot better. Monroe was a much improved team than in previous years, and if the girls continue to play the way they played in the first half, they’ll win a lot of games.”
In the eighth minute, Denver mirrored their game-winning goal from Friday to take the lead with DiGiacomo’s fifth goal of the season. In the 54th minute, the Pioneers used another combination between Vaughn and Hamilton to bump the lead to 2-0. Wood knocked in the third goal after another assist from Vaughn over the keeper’s head.
After Sunday’s game Vaughn, is now the third Pioneer to score 10 or more goals this season.
Both Campbell and junior Maria Khan played goalie Sunday and won DU’s fourth shut out this season.
“It’s really nice to come out with two wins this weekend in two pretty difficult places to play,” said Hooker. “Our ability to get two wins on the road was critical in order to keep pace in the league standings.”
