Pauley Notches First College Goal To Bring Down Xavier
By: Michael Crouchley – Staff Writer
There are a few special moments that every athlete holds on to for their entire life. Scoring your first goal, scoring a game winner, and winning a big rivalry game are up there near the top of the list. On Sept. 21, Jordan Pauley got to experience all of these unforgettable moments at once against Xavier University.
Coming off of a 3-0 win over Ohio University two days prior, Dayton women’s soccer team was feeling confident, but Xavier proved to be a more frustrating opponent.
“It was a good game, it was a competitive game. I think we had the run of play,” said head coach Eric Golz. “It just didn’t translate to as many chances to score as we would’ve liked.”
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The game found its way to an overtime period and the team knew what was at stake.
Pauley, a sophomore midfielder, broke it down saying, “Coach was always talking about how this was a rivalry even though they weren’t in our conference any more, so everyone really wanted the win. I remember going into the overtime, the intensity just went up from everyone on the team.”
In the 97th minute, Pauley put the game to rest in dramatic fashion scoring her first collegiate goal.
While she was excited about getting her first goal in the books in such a thrilling way, she deflected most of the praise to her teammates, “That goal wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for my teammates. There were three or four other players that worked their butts off for me to get that goal. I was there but any one of my other teammates could’ve finished that ball.”
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Pauley downplays the role she played in the game-winner, but Golz told the story of how great the play really was.
“Jordan struck the ball from about 25 yards out, and it was hit extremely well, on a rope, upper 90, she really couldn’t have struck it any better,” he said. “I think for a first collegiate goal it’s a pretty spectacular way to score.”
The Flyers’ win over Xavier closed out their non-conference play. And, after a scoreless draw against Virginia Commonwealth Thursday night, it remains the last goal the team has scored this season.
Photo courtesy of Erik Schelkun/Dayton Athletics