Waynesburg women’s soccer flew its way to victory with freshman Hayley Johnson’s winning goal in the 86th minute, finishing the match at Saint Vincent College with a score 2-1. 

“It wasn’t our prettiest game by any means,” said Waynesburg head coach George DeAugustino. “But it was a ‘hey we have to buckle down here and get a W on the road’ game.” 

Coming into the game, the Yellow Jackets faced a lot of adversity. Senior Meghan Briski was serving a single game suspension for a red card, and there were a couple other players missing due to illness. 

“We were playing some people out of position,”  DeAugustino said. “A couple of substitution adjustments changed the momentum of the game.”

To add onto the challenge, Waynesburg played most of the first half losing. Saint Vincent put up the first goal of the match during the fifth minute, but DeAugustino felt confident.

“Though we were down 1-0, I feel like we were playing really good soccer,” DeAugustino said. “The team reacted well and responded right away.”

Senior Lea Holtz moved from forward to right back, changing the dynamic of the Yellow Jackets’ play.

Another adjustment was moving sophomore Kate James to forward at the end of the first half, and it surely paid off.

“She was able to create a goal scoring moment by applying high pressure on the goalkeeper,” DeAugustino said. “She was able to put the ball into the back of the net.”

James put in the equalizer at the 42nd minute mark. She led the Jackets with two shots on goal and one assist. 

Waynesburg Junior Goalkeeper Autumn Blair was able to keep it tied by recording six saves on the day.

“They had some flashes in the first half on our end,” said DeAugustino, “but I knew we were going to eventually have goal scoring opportunities because the majority of play was in their end.”

That final opportunity came during the 86th minute mark. Johnson’s  upper-90, side panel shot came with a relieving score for the Yellow Jackets.

“Impressive finish,” DeAugustino said.  

Waynesburg has two remaining matches in the regular season. It’s next opponent is Thiel College at John F. Wiley Stadium on Oct. 23. The game starts at 8 p.m. 

DeAugustino is focused on one thing in these final matches.

“We want to win.”