Since 2014, the last time UNH won the America East championship, the Wildcats have been a team to beat in the conference. This weekend, they proved once again that the claim hasn’t changed.
The Wildcats edged the Binghamton Bearcats in a 1-0 win on the road in Vestal, New York. The following Sunday, UNH scored three unanswered goals sparked by Gaby Dorsey’s tally at 18:57 in the first half to propel the Wildcats to a come-from-behind victory over Hartford 3-1, handing the Hawks their first conference loss of the season, while improving their own record to 3-0 in America East play.
Dorsey scored the sole goal in Thursday’s contest vs. Binghamton, as well as the opening goal vs. Hartford, which marked her second goal in two games. Before Thursday, Dorsey did not have a single point in the stat column, and she feels the team has been giving her opportunities to gain points
“I think it’s kind of just been a team effort,” Dorsey said. “We’ve been getting forward and they’ve been playing some really good balls into me which is nice and just following our chances. I think it’s been a good effort all the way around.”
Sunday’s contest marked the first game all season in which the Wildcats won after trailing 1-0. Hartford forward Julia Carr’s goal was followed by three unanswered goals from UNH to cap off the win. Head coach Steve Welham admires his team’s resiliency and ability to battle back.
“The team showed a lot of character from being able to come back from a goal down,” Welham said following the victory. “We got one back, relatively quickly and we battled back, all the way through.”
Defense was a major theme in the second conference matchup vs. Binghamton. Goalkeeper Mimi Borkan and the Wildcat defense were able to deny 14 shots the Bearcats posted, as well as six corner kicks. Dorsey’s goal midway through the first half stood as the deciding one as the ‘Cats stood their ground for the remaining minutes to grind out the 1-0 victory.
Prior to the matchup vs. Hartford, the Wildcats were 0-4 when letting up the first goal of the game. After Dorsey’s game-tying score, the matchup turned into a battle of possession, as both teams had their fair share of opportunities. However, to the delight of the players and fans, the Wildcats found their opening in the late half of the game when Liz Lane found a seam down the left side for a cross in which Veronica Hardy buried for the game-winning goal. Brooke Murphy added her eighth of the year only minutes after to seal the 3-1 win.
The Wildcats now hold nine points in the conference standings, which is good for one of the best in the America East conference to date. This also marks the second consecutive year that UNH earned a 3-0 start to the conference portion of the schedule.
The Wildcats are back in action on Sunday, as they hit the road to take on the Vermont Catamounts in Burlington on Oct. 8.
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Dorsey shines in conference wins
October 3, 2016
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