The magical 2023 season continues for the women's soccer team.
Kelli Keady scored twice and the backline held solid as the
16th-ranked New York University women's soccer team took down third-ranked Carnegie Mellon in Newark, NJ, on November 11, to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
"I first want to recognize Carnegie Mellon. They are an amazing team and had an amazing season," said Head Coach
Scott Waddell. "Tonight was the first time they lost a game. I have huge respect for their staff and team. We knew today would be a really tough game but we were also confident that we could rise to the challenge."
After tying Carnegie Mellon 1-1 during the regular season, NYU came out ready to win. The Violets got on the score sheet in the opening 10 minutes when
Gabriella Funk played a ball down the left side of the field. Keady was open and after settling the pass, crossed the ball into the near post to send the Violets up 1-0 (8:59).
"The moment we saw Carnegie in our pod during the selection show we had a feeling this matchup might happen again," said Keady. "The opportunity to avenge that tie was incredible and we showed up as a team and battled for 90 minutes together"
The score held in favor of NYU going into halftime. However, Carnegie had the advantage in shots, 4-3, and corners, 2-0.
At 58:42, the second goal came for NYU.
Jayla Lee took a corner into the box where Keady was waiting to tap it into the back of the net. The goal from Keady, her 14th of the season, tied NYU's single season goal scoring record, set by Angela Pitassi in 1995.
Carnegie picked up their intensity, with six of their 11 shots coming after the second NYU goal.
"Our defensive line was fantastic and kept us in the game," added Keady. "Everyone is beyond excited and now turning our focus to recovering and preparing for next weekend. It's a great weekend to be a Violet!"
Keady only had two shots during the 90 minutes of play, but both landed in the back of the net.
Riley Mullady and
Hunter Hoelscher each had two shots of their own.
NYU goalkeeper
Tyler Hawkins made five saves, while Abby O'Connor made three for CMU.
"The entire team channeled every ounce of positivity and energy to help us get that result," added Waddell. "Kelli had a special night with the two goals, but I thought our backline played out of this world and our midfield stepped up as well. I'm super proud of the team and of course, looking forward to another week of practice and some more soccer. Sweet 16 here we come!"
The Violets move on to the next round of the NCAA Tournament and will take on a to-be-determined team next weekend.
