A four-goal, second-half performance led the DePauw’s women’s soccer team to a great home win on Sept. 24, as they took care of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Pomeroys at Reavis Stadium. Having now won three of their last four games, the Tigers’ season is really starting to gain momentum.
The game’s first 15 minutes were played in the balance, with the two teams feeling each other out. Good pressing by DePauw’s frontline resulted in their win during the early territorial battle yet caused a few problems, but it was hard for either team to create much in the early stages.
Sometimes, in a game that starts tight like this one, a little moment of brilliance is needed to open things up. Right at the 20-minute mark, DePauw got just that. Jayla Logan ’26 played a ball out wide to Sadie Gibson ’26 on the right wing. Although she was initially stopped, Gibson was able to beat two Pomeroy defenders on the dribble. She then sent in a perfect cross into the center where Sophia Patrey ’27 was in the right place at the right time to turn the cross in tidily from a few yards out for her third goal of the season.
However, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods deserves credit for responding well to going down 1-0 and creating a couple of good openings for themselves. DePauw goalkeeper Aubree Empie ’27 was forced into a great save by Pomeroy winger Lois Carr, who shot powerfully from the edge of the box. Unfortunately for DePauw, they were unable to fully clear the corner that followed, and in the second phase, the ball fell nicely for Kennedy Trigg, who sent a dipping, swerving effort into the top right corner to level the game.
After Saint Mary’s equalizer, DePauw dominated the remainder of the first half, playing long spells in the Pomeroys’ half and forcing their goalkeeper into five solid saves. After the interval, the Tigers again started brightly with clear attacking intent. DePauw created a number of opportunities, including from a slew of corners and attacking free kicks, which would eventually pay off. In the 57th minute, Patrey delivered an excellent driven corner, which Macy Happe ’26 met with a perfectly timed jump and glancing header, guiding it past the keeper and restoring DePauw’s lead.
The Tigers continued on the front foot after their second goal, and 10 minutes later, they doubled their lead, with Katherine Lacy ’28 firing an excellent left-footed strike into the top corner from just outside the box. Lacy has made a stellar start to her time at DePauw, with that already being her fourth goal of the season, but she was far from done that night.
Soon after, Saint Mary’s grabbed a second to cut the lead to 3-2. Lacy was able to restore the two-goal cushion with another excellent finish. This time, it was from a great cross into the danger area by Jenna Margiotti ’28, which Lacy was able to steer home past the onrushing keeper. At 4-2, and with just a few minutes left to play, the victory was surely secured. But just a minute after her second goal, Lacy finished off her hat trick and added an exclamation mark to the win. The third may have been the best of the bunch, as Lacy received the ball on the half turn before spinning past her mark with a burst of acceleration and hitting another unstoppable left-footed shot.
Despite a few tense moments with the game at 1-1, the Tigers will surely have been delighted with what was realistically a very dominant victory, as they outshot the Pomeroys 24-6.
The balance of energetic high pressing and great moments of quality will surely have been pleasing for head coach Cristin Allen and her staff.
Following the win, DePauw’s record now sits at 6-4-1 as they enter conference play next weekend. They open things up with a home game against Ohio Wesleyan at 2:30 on October 5th.