Of the 45 goals and 9 assists that Emmanuel College student Sarah Dullaghan tallied to overtake a collegiate scoring record set well before the Belmont native was born, one goal stands out.
The Saints junior striker and 2022 Belmont High School graduate corralled a pass and fired a right-footed strike into the back of the net to put Emmanuel College up 2-0 en route to their victory over Johnson & Wales University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship match earlier this month.
“My teammate Maya [Daryanani] weaved the pass perfectly, and I just finished,” said Dullaghan, 20. “I would really say the record comes from my two teammates that play outside forward, Hailey Goodman and Liz McCormick. They did a great job this season of creating chances and setting balls after balls after balls after balls into the box for me.”
In setting the NCAA Division III single-season record this fall for goals (45) and points (99) (goals count for two points), Dullaghan topped a 26-year-old scoring record set by Marymount (VA)’s Collette Cunningham in 1989 by a single point and put her team in position to close out its first league title since 2007.
Dullaghan’s high school career never took off quite like this. In fact, playing college soccer only became an option during her senior year, her first year with the Marauders varsity, when she made the Middlesex League All-Star Team. She also played basketball, and despite standing 5-foot-2, she made the league all-star team in basketball as a senior. Sometimes, Dullaghan jokes with coach Francis Okaroh that she wants to try out for Emmanuel’s hoops team.
“When we recruited her, she didn’t have all the stuff she has now, but she had the ability to fight and scratch her way to anything,” Okaroh said. “In the classroom and on the field, she’s a very good student. We’ve worked with her a lot, but she’s the one with the fight and will to get better.”
Johnson & Wales held Dullaghan without a goal or assist in their regular season matchup, a 2-0 Emmanuel loss at its home Roberto Clemente Field. She also went scoreless against them in each of her first two seasons, a rare feat for an Emmanuel opponent. Johnson & Wales is leaving the conference after this academic year, so Dullaghan wanted to make sure she left her mark. Those frustrating games, which don’t come often, fueled her performance in the final.
“[I] really wanted to score against them before they leave,” Dullaghan said.
Dominant from the start of her college career, Dullaghan started in 13 of 19 appearances, collecting 13 goals and 4 assists. She posted 21 goals and 8 assists as a sophomore and full-time starter before setting the record-breaking 45 goals, 11 more than her first two years combined. Dullaghan also posted a career-best nine assists and played just about every minute of all 22 games. Emmanuel owns a 49-9-4 overall record over her career.
Going into this season, Dullaghan and Okaroh spoke at length and crunched film to come up with some adjustments to her on-field movements. While neither Dullaghan nor the coach chose to disclose any secrets, Okaroh said a few subtle changes helped his star forward unlock a new level of play. He said the final eye-popping stats surprised him, but Dullaghan’s breakout season did not.
“I kind of knew what we were up against and where a lot of our opponents played her and it was no news that she could score,” Okaroh said. “In order to duplicate what she did last year, we had to add some more stuff to her game for this year.”
Emmanuel fell to No. 15 Rochester 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament earlier this month. Going further next year is Dullaghan’s main goal for her final year of college soccer before the nursing major sets off on a career in her intended field as an emergency department nurse.
“I’m really looking forward to next season since it’s my last,” Dullaghan said. “I wouldn’t say my goal is to break my record again. I’m more focused on team goals.”
