Tempers Flare as Thunderducks Push Past Suns to Grab Peel’s First DAC Victory

By Chase Upton

LANCASTER, Texas -- Dallas College Richland's No. 5 nationally-ranked women's soccer team came into its game Friday, looking to start the Dallas Athletic Conference schedule with a bang.

That's exactly what the Thunderducks did, defeating host Dallas College Cedar Valley, 3-1, thanks in large part to two penalty kick goals in the second half. With the win, first-year head coach Stephanie Peel secured her first DAC win.

Freshman midfielder Ashley Rosete scored two goals in the match, and sophomore Lanettia Aikens added one as well on a penalty kick in the 70^th minute.

Sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Harris held it down in the box, shutting out the Suns in the second half, allowing one goal -- an unassisted winner by Liliana Tapia in the 17th minute.

The two teams were deadlocked at 1 after the first half.

In the second half, Richland (2-1-0, 1-0-0 DAC) gained some breathing room, taking advantage of Rosete's second goal via the penalty kick in the 76^th minute. That was the result of tempers flaring up between the two teams as Cedar Valley's Briana Puente shoved a Richland player as she was trying to step over Puente, leading to the two teams exchanging words and Puente receiving a red card. Despite that, no Richland players were issued cards by the officials.

"We have been working hard to develop a culture that emphasizes integrity and composure under stressful circumstances, so the game tonight was a good opportunity for us to practice that, and walk away with a positive outcome," said Peel when asked about the altercation. "I feel proud of my team for being resilient in a well-earned first conference win. It was a battle."

The Thunderducks' next match is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Dallas College Mountain View (0-3-0, 0-1-0).

Cedar Valley, which is receiving votes in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III rankings, fell to 4-2-0, 0-1-0.