Women’s Soccer Rallies for 3-2 Victory Over Rival The Citadel

Down 2-0 at the half, the VMI women’s soccer team rallied to score three second-half goals to beat rival The Citadel 3-2 at Drill Field No. 2 Oct. 1.

The win marks VMI’s first Southern Conference victory since a 1-0 win over Mercer Oct. 22, 2017. It also snapped a six-game losing streak to the Bulldogs, as VMI’s last win over The Citadel came Oct. 20, 2017—a 1-0 win in Lexington.

“I’m just so proud of our players,” said Chris Haught-Thompson, VMI head coach. “To be down 2-0 and fight back shows our resilience. We’ve had results that we’ve played really well, and they’ve slipped away from us, so to get this one in this fashion—I’m really happy for our seniors and our entire team.”

Riley Boucher ’26, forward, earned her first career brace, scoring two goals in the final 20 minutes of the match to lift VMI to the historic win. With VMI down 2-1, her equalizer came at the 70:58 mark off an assist from Morgan Anderson ’24, and her game-winning goal came at the 82:31 mark as she used a nifty spin move to duck a The Citadel defender and slip the shot into the lower left corner of the Bulldog net.

Sedona Dancu ’25, redshirt sophomore, scored first for VMI early in the second half at the 49:50 mark, as she raced behind the Bulldog defenders and stuck a shot into the upper right corner to cut into VMI’s two-goal deficit coming out of the break. The goal marked Dancu’s third of the season.

Key Stats

• The Citadel’s Amber Fairfax scored early for the Bulldogs in the third minute (2:40 assisted by Ariana Paez.)
• Bulldog Maggie Melogy scored in the 35th minute (34:19) to up The Citadel lead going into the half.
• After logging five shots in the opening half, VMI’s offensive prowess was on display with 13 in the second half.
• VMI totaled five corner kicks to The Citadel’s two during the match.
• Jillian Hall ’24, keeper, preserved her second win of the year by registering two saves on the day. The Citadel’s Nora Sampson picks up the individual loss despite five saves.
• Boucher, Madison Hornig ’24, and Lauren Fyfe ’25 each had four shots to lead the VMI offense.
• The Citadel’s Amber Fairfax and Didi Turay led the Bulldogs with two shots apiece.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published on vmikeydets.com.