DOVER, Del. – In an emotional night for the Delaware State University soccer team as senior Michelle Giorgilli (Millville, Del.) played her last game at Alumni Stadium Thursday, DSU pulled out a stunner as they defeated Great West Conference powerhouse Utah Valley University, 2-1, for the Hornets’ first GWC victory in school history.

 

Del State, who was previously 0-14-2 in the Great West in the past three seasons, notched their first victory with goals from freshman Chelsea Boursiquot (Stratford, Conn.) and junior Candace Wyre (Smyrna, Del.).  The Wolverines, who were previously 3-0-1 in the 2011 campaign, have won the GWC title two out of the past three seasons.

 

“What we take out of this is that belief is such an important part of getting over that hump,” commented DSU head coach Nitan Soni.  “The girls had a tremendous amount of belief today.  There was no doubt on the field that we were going to get every single ball, make perfect passes, hustle, be aggressive and just make the right decisions.”

 

Boursiquot scored the first goal of the night and her third of the season, coming off of a perfect pass from Giorgilli in the 21^st minute.  The freshman forward received the ball on the right side of the night and shot a missile into the top right corner of the net from about five yards out to take a 1-0 lead.

 

“It was just one of those moments where everyone was in a perfect position,” stated Giorgilli.  “Chelsea did exactly what she needed to do to get to her spot and we both had perfect angles – for me to get her the ball and for her to rocket it into the net.”

 

“Michelle played absolutely above herself today,” remarked Soni.  “Everyone needed to play bigger than ever and that’s exactly what she did.  Watching somebody who felt like they were 10 times bigger than they actually are, it was just amazing to see the heart and hustle that she has.”

 

With time starting to wind down, UVU received a goal from Kaitlyn Thomas, her fourth on the season, in the 72^nd minute.  Thomas received the ball from Natalie Young about nine yards out and shot the ball straight on to score right under the top crossbar.

 

The Hornets responded almost immediately with Wyre’s second goal of the season in the 73^rd minute.

 

“That was very characteristic of this team, they never think they’re out of it,” Soni stated.  “Utah Valley scored their goal and you almost wanted to go ‘oh no, not again,’ but they didn’t.  They just keep playing their hearts out, that’s the quality of this team.  I’m ecstatic for the girls and for them to feel what it’s like to beat a quality Division I team.  They got exactly what they deserved.”

 

Freshman Katelyn Koslosky (East Islip, N.Y.) recorded nine saves on the night as Del State improves to 2-13-2 overall on the season and 1-3-1 in conference play.  The Wolverines fall to 8-8-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the GWC.

 

As is customary for the last home games of the season, the Hornets honored Giorgilli and her four-year DSU career in a pre-game ceremony.  Giorgilli was Soni’s very first recruit to come to Delaware State to play soccer.

 

“I’m going to be really sad to see Michelle go,” said Soni.  “If this were the professional world, I would say that she is really a true professional.  She comes to work every single day and regardless of outside factors, she comes to work hard.  She is a testimony to how we would like every single girl to be and she’s a joy to coach.  We’re happy to have been a part of her career and want her to know that she’s leaving a positive impact at Del State.”

 

“In my four years, to see how our team has grown is truly remarkable,” Giorgilli commented.  “Our first season was rough, but now we’re competing against and defeating teams that have usually beaten us by a ton.  It’s been awesome to be a part of this team and I’m going to miss it all.”

 

The Hornets close out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 29 as they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on the Howard Bison.

 

---DSU WOMEN’S SOCCER---