By Kyle Grew, Staff Reporter.
The Pioneers (6-4-3) entered the match having lost or tied the past two games.
After beating Cincinnati State Technical & Community College (4-8-1) earlier in the season, the Pioneers hoped to get their season back on track. Almost as soon as the game started however, it was headed for derailment, conceding a highly disputed penalty kick in the 3rd minute of the game.
Down one point, the visibly upset Pioneers allowed Cincinnati State to score again just two minutes later. For the rest of the first half, Cincinnati maintained more possessions but Delta’s defense held strong.
Delta almost cut the lead in half with 10 minutes left in the period when a good play developed into a well timed shot from Abriana Garza. As the whistle blew for half time, you could see the frustration built up within Delta’s squad and the pleasure on the opponents faces.
When asked about the half time adjustments Coach Stenglein said, “I told them just win and out muscle and out hustle them and we can do it.”
They took that mentality into the second half and Delta came out strong. The Pioneers won every aerial challenge, won races to the ball and created more chances than their opponents.
The hard work paid off in the 50th minute when Delta’s Druanne Brogen redirected a corner shot off a Cincinnati player. The Lady Pioneers kept their pace and continued the pressure as another goal was slotted home in the 77th minute to tie the score at 2-2.
Cincinnati, with almost no possession of the ball in the second half, began to get frustrated, yelling at one another. The game seemed destined for a stalemate until a defensive breakdown lead to Tara Blundell feeding the ball to Brogen, firing a shot home. The Pioneer’s goal in the 81st minute gave Delta the lead.
Brogen added one more goal in the 89th minute with a header, followed by praise from her coach and teammates. Coach Stenglein talked about how proud he was of Brogen coming back from a horrendous knee injury, showing everyone how special of a player she is.
Both Stenglin and Brogen agreed this game was a must win and was a big boost for the team, record and psyche. Brogen spoke of her performance in the second half saying she was, “out for blood and wanted the ball and the win.”
You can see Delta’s Women Soccer Team play at home next against Wednesday Oct. 22 against Davenport University’s JV team at 5 p.m.
