Boxscore

Photo courtesy of Christopher Permar

NEWARK, Del. -- Senior Darren Christie tallied a pair of goals to lead the University of Delaware men’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over visiting Drexel University at Delaware Mini-Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Both Delaware (5-6-0 overall, 2-1-0 CAA) and Drexel (5-4-0 overall, 1-1-0 CAA) went scoreless in the first period of play, though the Hens outshot the visiting squad, 5-3.

The Dragons chanced the lead in the 23rd minute when freshman Malcolm LeBourne fired a shot across goal and connected with the left post before the Hens’ defense cleared the ball from the box, but it was not until the second stint of play that the game truly came alive.

In the 55th minute, Christie (at right) marched down the left sideline before cutting to the box and booting a shot past Drexel keeper Alex Reber for the first score of the night.

Play continued to bounce back and forth between the Colonial Athletic Association opponents, en route to the Dragons outshooting the Blue and Gold, 8-6, in the latter 45. Despite the shooting disadvantage, the Hens collected their second, and eventual game-winning goal at 73:06.

An almost text-book perfect play, UD had a throw-in that met the forehead of junior Courtney Hewitt leading to Christie’s sixth goal of the season. Hewitt connected with the airborne ball to redirect it over a slew of defenders clustered in front of the goal, before Christie brought it down and tapped it in from the right post.

With a 2-0 cushion, and time growing scarce, the Dragons wasted little time before getting on the board themselves.

At 73:33 Delaware defender Darren O’Connor was penalized with his second card of the game, a red card, and forced to depart the field and leave the Hens a “man-down” for the remaining 16:27. In the contest seven cards charged to players.

The Dragons capitalized on the situation as senior Fabio Assumpcao laced a direct kick over the wall of defenders and into the cage to bring the game within one.

Both teams fought through the remaining minutes, as the Hens held off a forceful visiting offense to capture their second CAA victory of 2009. Not only did the victory serve as the Hens’ fourth out of the last five contests and the third consecutive (La Salle 2-0, JMU 1-0, Drexel 2-1), but Delaware also did something that UD has not accomplished in over a decade. Delaware tallied three wins in a row which had not been done since the 1998 season when the Hens defeated Temple 1-0 in overtime, Lafayette 3-2 and La Salle 2-0.

Freshman goalie Brandon Paul made two saves in goal for Delaware, while Reber made just one for the Dragons.

“A fantastic showing of character tonight for the win,” said fourth-year head coach Ian Hennessy. “The spirit in this group is strong and we’re using it to tap into late-game situations -- it’s nice to see. I am so happy for the lads.

“Again, Darren Christie was electric for us tonight. Also, Brandon Paul made some terrific saves on the other end as he continues to play strong. We have a very important game against Hofstra next and if we manage to win again, it would be a nice set-up for a couple of upcoming away dates,” Hennessy noted.

Delaware will return to CAA action on Saturday, Oct. 10 when it hosts Hofstra University in a 10 a.m. match.

AGATE:

Drexel..........0.....1........1
Delaware......0.....2........2

Scoring Summary: First Half: None; Second Half: UD - Darren Christie - 51:22, UD - Darren Christie (Courtney Hewitt) - 73:06, DREXEL - Fabio Assumpcao - 73:35; Shots: UD - 11, DREXEL - 11; Corner Kicks: UD - 0, DREXEL - 6; Saves: UD - 2 (Brandon Paul, 2), DREXEL - 1 (Alex Reber, 1); Fouls: UD - 13, DREXEL 16; Offsides: UD - 0, DREXEL - 4.