The Seton Hall women’s soccer team kept its unbeaten streak alive on Thursday night, after drawing 1-1 with Lafayette College at Owen T. Carroll Field. It was a big moment for freshman midfielder Danni Hennessy, who netted the first goal of her collegiate career to give the Pirates an early lead in the game. The final result keeps SHU undefeated through their first four games of the season, something they haven’t done in over a decade.
The Pirates wasted little to no time finding the back of the net in the contest. Just ten minutes in, sophomore defender Olivia Beauvois whipped in a perfect cross from the left side of the box. The ball then sailed right over Lafayette’s goalkeeper and dropped beautifully for Hennessy, who buried a header into the net to give SHU the lead. You could see how much it meant for Hennessy to finally score the first goal of her collegiate career, as she celebrated and hugged her teammates with excitement
Despite SHU leading, it was a tightly contested first half, with both sides trading shots on goal. The Pirates held a slim 6-to-5 edge in shots at halftime, but it was clear that Lafayette wasn’t going to go away quietly.
After the break, the Leopards pushed hard for an equalizer, keeping the Pirates pinned back in their own defensive half for long stretches of the second half. Lafayette’s effort eventually paid off in the 74th minute when senior forward Katrina Santelli found space inside the Pirates’ box. She then ripped a shot past SHU’s sophomore goalkeeper, Avery Strohecker, to tie the game at 1-1 and swing the momentum in Lafayette’s favor.
Following Santelli’s equalizer, the final 15 minutes of the game saw both teams scrambling for a winner. SHU tried to find another breakthrough, while Lafayette continued to press forward, but neither side could land the knockout punch. In the dying minutes of the game, Lafayette had their final chance at a winner, before Strohecker made a clutch save to keep the score tied in the 90th minute.
While the Pirates would have loved to walk away with the win, a 2-0-2 record marks the program’s best start in years—and for a young squad still building its identity as a team, staying unbeaten through their first four matches is promising for the program.
Following this game, the Pirates will begin a lengthy five-game road trip, starting Sunday, Aug 31 when they travel to Philadelphia to face the Drexel University Dragons in their first away game of the season. They will return to Owen T. Carroll Field on Wednesday, Sep 24, when they host the Georgetown University Bulldogs for their second game of conference play.
Jaden Highsmith is the assistant editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at jaden.highsmith@student.shu.edu.
