Seton Hall Holds on for a Point against Lafayette

Published: Thursday, August 28, 2025

by Sean Casey

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- The Seton Hall Pirates (2-0-2) worked a draw against their Patriot League opponent, the Lafayette Leopards (1-1-2), by a score of 1-1 on Thursday night. 

The Pirates jumped to a quick first half lead but conceded to a pesky Leopards team that had no quit as they gave up the equalizer midway through the second half.

Right from kickoff, Seton Hall played with great energy. The first ten minutes saw numerous chances for both sides, but the Pirates had the better attempts, seeing more shots go on target. After a back and forth start, Seton Hall held on for more possession, organizing their offensive attack.

As soon as the Pirates were able to organize an offensive setup, a ball played over the top by the Seton Hall defense found the feet of Olivia Beauvois, and she took on the shot from outside the box. Her shot deflected towards the corner flag and, however, she was able to recover possession. Beauvois now had the ball in a dangerous area and looked to make something happen.

Beauvois delivered a beautiful cross into the box and found the head of Danni Hennessy, who found the back of the net for the opening goal of the game just 11 minutes in. The goal was the first of Hennessy’s collegiate career, who is already playing big, important minutes for the Pirates.

Just three minutes later, the Pirates had another great chance, as Gianna Angelillo was able to maneuver multiple Lafayette midfielders and tried her luck from distance, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Angelillo's attempt was one of two saves for Layfette’s keeper Catherine Apker.

The rest of the first half was relatively unsuccessful, with both teams lacking success in stringing together drives before the half's conclusion. Lafayette fended off two Seton Hall corners to keep the halftime deficit at 1-0.

Coming out of the half, Lafayette completely flipped the script. The Leopards became more physical, drawing fouls and committing fouls themselves. Seton Hall weathered the storm in the early minutes but it became clear it was a more competive half to come.

From the 60th minute onward the game shifted completely in Lafayette’s favor. A foul in Seton Hall’s own half by Sarah Mitchell gave the Leopards a free kick in a dangerous area.

After multiple deflections off of the free kick, it was Lafayette’s Katrina Santinelli who was able to finally put the Leopards on the board and tie the match at one a piece.

This score would become the final, as neither team was capable of puting a shot on goal from that point forward.

With the result being a draw, the Pirates are now undefeated through their first four matches for the first time since 2012.

Seton Hall will now be on the road for their next five matches after a four-game homestand to kickoff their season. Their first road matchup will come against Drexel on Sunday, August 31 at 1:00 P.M.

Sean Casey can be reached at sean.casey@student.shu.edu

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