Hooper's Brace Leads Pirates To Victory Over Villanova, 2-1

Thursday, September 23

Villanova, PA

3 p.m.

Seton Hall University

6-3-0, 1-0-0

Villanova

6-3-0, 0-1-0

Seton Hall

Villanova

Hooper's Brace Leads Pirates To Victory Over Villanova, 2-1

9/23/2021 7:16:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (pdf)

VILLANOVA, PA. – Senior Laura Hooper (Watford, England) found the back of the net twice late in the second half to lead the Seton Hall women's soccer team to a 2-1 win in its BIG EAST opener at Villanova on Thursday afternoon.

The Pirates improved to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST with the victory.

After finishing second on the team in goals last season, Hooper hadn't gotten into the scoring column through eight games this season. But in the 72nd minute, she delivered a strike to the top right corner from outside the box to put the Pirates ahead 1-0. Freshman Caroline Lipton (Alexandria, Va.) helped break the scoreless tie with her first career assist.

The Wildcats quickly equalized five minutes later but Hooper responded again, providing the game-winner with some help from freshmen Natalie Tavana (Middletown, Conn.) and Sophie Liston (Newcastle West, Ireland).

Quick Kicks

With nine games to play, Seton Hall has its most wins in a season since winning seven games in 2012.
The win marked the Pirates' first victory over Villanova since Oct. 20, 2013 and their first BIG EAST road win since a 3-0 win at Pitt on Sept. 25, 2011.
The Pirates' win over the Wildcats marked their first win in a BIG EAST opener since 2013 when they beat Providence, 1-0, at Owen T. Carroll Field on Sept. 26.
The victory also marked the first time Seton Hall won their conference season debut on the road since a 3-2 overtime victory at Georgetown on Sept. 16, 2011.
Hooper now has seven goals in her career as a Pirate and 12 in four-plus collegiate seasons.
Liston now has a team-best four assists on the season and Tavana has tallied three.
The Hall scored twice in the second half, its first goals in the second half this season.
Villanova finished with a 19-16 advantage in shots, including a 12-6 margin after halftime.
Junior Grace Gordon (Chester Springs, Pa.) finished with a season-high eight goals.
Gordon, Tavana, Hooper, senior Lauren DiPietro (Stoney Creek, Ontario), senior Dani Brinckman (Glastonbury, Conn.), freshman Chiara Pucci (Munich, Germany), freshman Cara Milne-Redhead (Clitheroe, England) and senior Emily Arellano (Wadsworth, Ohio) played the full 90 minutes.