LEXINGTON, Va. - Sydnie Bligh headed home an Erica Putney corner kick to break a 1-1 tie in the 85th minute, sending the VMI women's soccer team past the South Carolina State Bulldogs 2-1 in non-conference women's soccer action Friday afternoon at VMI's Patchin Field. The win was a key one in program history, as it broke a long Division I losing skid for the Keydets (1-3), one that dated back to Sept. 16, 2011.
After the two teams swapped penalty kick goals in the opening period, they battled through a hotly contested final half on the warm, sunny afternoon. At 84:11, Putney lined up a corner kick from the far corner at the spectator side of the field. She hit a low, arching kick into the middle of the box, where Bligh was waiting and headed it directly past SCSU (3-3) keeper Haley Austin for the eventual game-winner. The score was Bligh's second of the year.
"What a fun match for us this afternoon," said VMI head coach Bryan Williams. "It was an absolutely perfect day here. It was nice to have Patchin sort of work its magic for us! It's hard to believe that this is our first Division I win in nearly two years and it was great to have it here, on this field."
On the day, the Keydets controlled the pace for much of the opening half, leading to a 17-9 edge in total shots. They out-corner kicked SCSU 5-0 while forcing Austin to make 10 saves.
Despite that, however, it was the Bulldogs who struck first. Less than five minutes into the contest, Dominique Brown was pulled down from behind with a clear path to the goal, leading to a penalty kick. Brown put the kick by Liz Nickerson for a 1-0 visitor lead.
The Keydets countered in the 23rd minute, when after two shots by Allie Segura led to saves, Myranda Emery was fouled in the box and earned a penalty try as well. She nailed the kick by Austin to tie the match, 1-1 on her first career PK.
The Keydets kept pressure on Austin in the 34th minute, when Bligh was turned aside, and also in the 42nd, when a rocket off the left foot of Meredith Baldasare was plucked out of the air by the SCSU keeper. One additional Austin save, a stop in the final seconds of the half, sent the match to halftime tied, 1-1.
The Keydets controlled the pace in the opening half, outshooting SCSU 9-2 and earning two corner kicks. Austin's five saves were key in sending the match to the second half tied, and it was Austin who turned aisde Emery in the 47th minute and Segura in the 56th, preserving that tie early in the final period.
The visitors counterattacked later in the half, posting three straight shots that began in the 68th minute, one of which was stopped by Emily Marbury. The other two shots were blocked aside as the contest remained deadlocked. Austin stopped Baldasare in the 72nd minute, and a good SCSU chance went astray in the 83rd minute when Brown misfired, missing high. That set up Putney's 85th minute corner kick and Bligh's game-winning header.
The Keydets survived one final Bulldog counter, which led to a Marbury save off an Amelia Green header to preserve the 2-1 win.
"I thought South Carolina St. was very scrappy and they kept working the entire match," said Coach Williams. "It was a tremendous effort in that first half for Myranda Emery on the penalty kick, and I thought the back line played particularly well today, including our goalkeepers in conjuction with them. The midfield played very well, especially in the first half, and this was really a team win as I felt everyone had strong games. We've been working on the play that led to the game winner for quite some time. It was a great service by Erica Putney, and the three runners in the center created a great screen for Sydnie Bligh, who converted against a very tough SCSU keeper."
VMI women's soccer is back in action Sunday, taking on Delaware State at 1 p.m. at Patchin Field.
