Philly Women’s Soccer – Conference Championship Edition

PHILLY COLLEGE SPORTS WOMEN’S SOCCER REVIEW

Conference Championship Edition

DREXEL 13 – 3 – 2 Overall, 7 – 2 – 1 CAA

Results – Won 1 – 0 vs. Delaware at Vidas Field

Summary –

Drexel 1 Delaware 0 – Sam Greenfield scored off a corner kick with 2:16 to play allowing the Dragons to pull out a 1 – 0 victory.  The win gave Drexel the 2^nd seed in the CAA Tournament and a first round bye.  Goal Keeper Eve Badana recorded her 10^th shutout of the season.

Next Game – vs. UNCW in CAA Tournament Semifinal 11/2

LA SALLE 15 – 4 – 1 Overall, 8 – 0 – 1 Atlantic 10

Results – Won 2 – 0 vs. Charlotte in Atlantic 10 Quarterfinal

Summary –

LaSalle 2 Charlotte 0 – The top seeded LaSalle Explorers advanced to the Atlantic 10 semifinal round beating Charlotte 2 – 0.  The Explorers, undefeated in conference play, got the scoring started as Maryam Huseini scored in the 33^rd minute.  Gabriella Carbone scored the insurance goal in the 65^th minute.

Going into the tournament LaSalle earned conference awards as Coach Paul Royal was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second straight season.  Courtney Niemiec earned the conference Defensive Player of the Year Award and was a first team selection.  Joining Niemiec on the first team were Renee Washington and Gabriella Pakhtigian.  Kelsey Haycook and Jourdan McVicker earned second team honors.  McVicker, Pakhtigian, and Washington were named to the All-Academic team.

Next Game – vs. Butler 11/2 in Atlantic 10 Semifinal

PENN – 9 – 5 – 1 Overall, 5 – 1 Ivy League

Results – Won 1 – 0 (OT) vs. Brown at Rhodes Field

Summary –

Penn 1 Brown 0 (OT) – Megan York received a long pass in the box from Erin Thayer.  York was 12 yards out, turned, and fired a left foot shot that got inside the far post giving the Red and Blue a 1 – 0 win in overtime.

The Ivy League title is on the line for the Quakers when they visit Princeton on Saturday.  If the Tigers win, they get the title and the NCAA berth.  Should Penn beat Princeton and Dartmouth loses to Cornell, the Quakers get the NCAA berth by virtue of winning the head-to-head match against Princeton.  If Penn wins and Dartmouth beats Cornell, there will be a three-way tie for the conference title.  The Quakers, Tigers, and Big Green would be named tri-champions, and the NCAA berth would be decided by a random draw by Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris.

Next Game – at Princeton 11/3

SAINT JOSEPH’S 9 – 7 – 4 Overall, 4 – 2 – 3 Atlantic 10

Result – Lost 4 – 0 to VCU in Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals

Summary –

VCU 4 Saint Joseph’s 0 – The 6^th seeded Hawks opened play in the Atlantic 10 tournament, but ended their season with a 4 – 0 loss to VCU.  Mo Hawkins led the Hawks with 5 shots.  Jill Root, Taylor Mallory, and Shannon Westhead each had 3 shots.  Christine Neal made 3 saves in her final game as a Hawk.

Hawkins was selected as the Conference Midfielder of the Year and was named to the first team.  Neal joined Hawkins on the first team.  Olivia McEachern was named to the All-Rookie team.

Next Game – Season ends for the Hawks finishing with a 9 – 7 – 4 record.

TEMPLE 5 – 12 – 3 Overall, 2 – 6 – 1 Atlantic 10

Results – Tied 0 – 0 (2 OT) vs. LaSalle at the Ambler Sports Complex

Summary –

Temple 0 LaSalle 0 (2 OT) – The Owls finished their season with a scoreless draw against city rival, and conference regular season champion, LaSalle.  The Explorers outshot the Owls by a 38 – 8 margin.  Senior Goal Keeper Gillian Kacsuta played the first half between the posts making 5 saves.  Tara Murphy took over in the second half making 10 saves.  Murphy finished the season with 82 saves which is a career-high.

Temple placed two players on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team.  Goal Keeper Shauni Kerkhoff and Defender Erin Lafferty were recognized by the conference.

Next Game – Temple ends the season 5 – 12 – 3.  Next season will be the inaugural season for the Owls in the Big East.

VILLANOVA 7 – 9 – 3 Overall, 5 – 4 – 1 Big East

Results – Lost 3 – 0 vs. DePaul in the Big East Tournament First Round at the Villanova Sports Complex

Summary –

DePaul 3 Villanova 0 – The Blue Demons scored three second half goals in a ten minute span to end the season for the Wildcats.  The game marked the first post season appearance for Villanova since the 2009 season.  Emily Damstrom had a game-high five shots, and Stephanie Myers had two.

Next Game –Villanova finishes the season 7 – 9 – 3