Women's Soccer Falls in ECAC Metro Final

Violets Drop 2-1 OT Decision to William Paterson

Walters was a force in the net for NYU.

Michelle Marabondo's second goal of the match, on her second shot of the final sequence, gave William Paterson University a 2-1 overtime victory over NYU in the championship game of the ECAC Division III Metro Tournament at New Jersey Institute of Technology's Lubetkin Field in Newark, NJ, on Sunday.

After a dazzling save by the Violets' Alex Walters, Marabondo collected the rebound and was able to lift the ball over the fallen goalkeeper 5:39 in the first overtime period.

“It was a great effort for us. A great effort by both teams,” said NYU head coach Werner T. Dasbach. “But, it was a very tough result for us.”

It was the second straight loss in the ECAC Metro championship game for NYU, who dropped a 1-0 decision to Stevens Institute of Technology in 2008.

The two squads had met earlier in the season, on Oct. 7, with the Violets posting a 2-1 victory that day.

Marabondo opened the scoring on Sunday at 39:48 after streaking down the left side and putting the ball inside the right post past NYU's starting keeper, Rachael Ross.

The Violets continued to be stymied until the 59:12 mark when Filiz Kipcakli sent a deep cross from the right corner into the front of the net, where Lucy Dolly Caires headed the ball inside the left post over the Pioneers' goalkeeper, Meaghan Baker.

Both teams had scoring opportunities over the final 30 minute of regulation, but Walters (6 saves) and Baker (3 saves) became impenetrable.

The Violets claimed the first scoring chance in overtime, but Rebecca Assing's shot in the 92nd minute was corralled by Baker.

Then, just prior to the winning goal, Walters made a sprawling save on Marabondo's shot inside the box. However, the loose ball went back to Marabondo and the freshman did not waste her second opportunity, driving it in over the fallen Walters to give William Paterson its first ECAC title.

“There were three great goals in the game and a lot of great keeping.” Dasbach said. “Things could have gone either way.”

In a tightly contested match throughout, William Paterson managed a 16-11 edge in shots while both squads took six corner kicks.

The top-seeded Violets ended their season with a 10-9-1 record, while the #2-seeded Pioneers concluded their schedule with a 13-7-3 mark.