It took a while, but the Tigers finally generated enough offense and garnered just enough defense.
The first win of the season for the DePauw women's soccer team is one that was savored and one that, for a moment, will erase all memory of the brutal start to the season.
For senior Dana Sprague, it's one welcomed with relief.
Sprague scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute of the game on a pass down the right sideline. After a couple of touches, the ball was in the net, and DePauw (1-7, 1-1 NCAC) held out for the final minutes of the game for the 1-0 win over Hiram College (3-5-1, 0-1 NCAC).
"The whole game, we were struggling to score," Sprague said. "We had so many opportunities, we just couldn't get the ball in. Not going into overtime was a great feeling, and finally having a win under our belt gives us some great confidence going forward."
Sprague added that her team was called on a few off-side penalties, including one that negated a Tigers goal.
Sprague won the ball on the right side as her defender tripped, and she charged at the goal. Sprague found midfielder Megann Lear in the middle of the field, and Lear passed it right back to Sprague with Hiram's goalkeeper coming out of the box. She slotted the ball near the left post.
At first she didn't believe it counted - Sprague looked at the sideline referee for a potential off-side penalty.
"It was the best feeling," Sprague said. "At first, it was like 'did that count?' We all started screaming and jumping on top of each other, we were so happy."
After the goal, the team came together to calm each other down and offer advice to get the win.
"We just needed to slow the game down, don't try and make fast kicks or fast throw-ins, just keep possession," Sprague said.
The Tigers held, ending a seven-game losing streak.
While the outcome was positive, DePauw's weak trends in the season continued. The Tigers outshot Hiram 24-5, but tallied just one goal. In 48 shots-on-goal during the season, DePauw has just five goals compared to 19 from opponents.
"We need to look to shoot more often," Sprague said. "We think there's a better option, but we really just need to take a shot - take it at our defender and just rip a shot."
The Tigers are not looking at their overall record, but the .500 NCAC record for the rest of the season. DePauw faces out-of-conference opponent Illinois Wesleyan University (1-5) on Thursday at Boswell Field and Kenyon College (4-4, 0-0 NCAC) on Saturday.