WASHINGTON – Howard University women’s soccer team ended its brief homestand with a 1-0 victory over Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in an intense, nonconference matchup at Greene Stadium.
With the win, HU moved to 3-1 overall and remains unbeaten at home.
“Today was a hard fought victory,” said Howard women’s soccer head coach Brent Leiba. “We had plenty of quality opportunities that we need to do a better job at executing, but I’m proud of the players for finding a way to get the result.”
At the 85-minute mark, sophomore defender Kendall Macauly (Toronto, Canada) was foul inside the box and granted a penalty kick opportunity. In the waning moments of a tied contest, the Toronto native delivered the match-winning goal over VMI’s Noelle Heilpern head and propelled HU to victory.
Although the Keydets outshot HU, 23-13, senior goalkeeper Alayah Hightower (Largo, Md.) keep VMI over the board and tied a career-high 12 saves in the victory.
“Alayah [Hightower] was fantastic,” said Leiba on his senior goalkeeper. “[She] certainly was a major factor in getting the team a victory.”
For VMI (1-6), Heilpern registered five saves in a losing effort.
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