Rockville Centre, N.Y. — Head coach Brooke DeRosa and the reigning Northeast 10 regular season champion Adelphi women's soccer team returned to the field on Thursday afternoon for their 2025 season opener against Wilmington (Del.)
The Panthers set the tone early with their up-tempo offense that features Madison Apicella, Gia Mandile and the 2024 conference player of the year Kayleigh Goodrich. In the first fifteen minutes of the game, all three were able to get a shot on goal but none found the back of the net.
With the field tilted in Adelphi's direction, a pass found Dylann Trahey in the middle of the box but she was fouled and Adelphi was awarded a penalty kick. The Wilmington keeper guessed correctly, but Goodrich buried it past her as the Cats took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute.
Adelphi continued to pepper the Wildcat defense with offensive chances, but none were fruitful and the Panthers took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
While the first half was all Adelphi, the game was quickly flipped on its head in the beginning of the second period. An errant pass led to Wilmington's first true chance of the day and the result was a 1-1 tie with 42 minutes to play.
The Panthers would respond by again pushing the ball up field, but they could not seem to find a real chance as momentum had turned in favor of the Wildcats.
In the 68th minute, almost identical to its first goal, Wilmington had a burst of speed and a Wildcat forward was behind the entire Adelphi defense. With only the goalie to beat, Wilmington capitalized and took a 2-1 lead.
The next 20 minutes would be a chess match as Adelphi began to press and push its entire offense up the field while Wilmington essentially parked the bus and played with nine back.
Adelphi's best chances came from Goodrich and Sophia Cataldo but the story of the day was the Panthers (13 shots, six shots on goal) not being able to capitalize on offensive chances as they fell in the season opener, 2-1.
Emily Aridas and Emma Raptis made their first collegiate starts while Crystal Knoell, Bethany Solari and Jenna Biondo all made their collegiate debuts. Carmen Reinerink made her Adelphi debut starting at centerback.
DeRosa and the Cats look to bounce back on Saturday when they take on Molloy at 2:00 PM in Rockville Centre.
