Women's Soccer | 11/18/2017 1:52:00 PM
The New York University women's soccer team defeated Grove City College 1-0 in the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship on Saturday, November 18, at Springfield College in Springfield, MA.
The victory advances the Violets (13-5-3) forward to the ECAC final, where they will take on the host Springfield College Pride (16-6-1) for the second consecutive season.
In a contest that went all the way down to the wire, despite NYU dominating in shot attempts and possession, junior midfielder
Maddie Pena delivered the winning score with a header off a corner kick from senior
Teressa Fazio with less than a minute left in the game (89:21).
"It was exciting to get the goal at the end and see our work on the field pay off," said Head Coach
Michele Canning. "In the second half, Grove City did a good job of dropping in and making it more crowded for us. We were challenged to break them down. I think we did a great job of continuing to try to find gaps and believe we were going to score."
Grove City (17-6) made the Violets' lives difficult for 89 minutes, with Wolverines' goalkeeper Trishae Winters leading the resistance with seven saves.
NYU keeper
Sophia Danielsen did not need to make a save in recording the shutout, as Grove City only attempted three shots of which none reached the goal.
Pena's game-winner from the edge of the box was NYU's 27th and final shot of the contest, with eight going on goal.
"Overall, it was a solid performance," Canning added. "We controlled the tempo throughout."
QUICK KICKS:
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Alex Benedict attempted a game-high seven shots, with two landing on net.
- Pena finished with five shots overall and two on goal.
- Saturday's matchup was the second-straight between NYU and Grove City in the ECAC Championship semifinals. Last season, NYU also defeated the Wolverines 1-0 as Lexi Clarke '17 scored the game's only goal.
NYU returns to the pitch for the ECAC Championship Final on Sunday. The game is set to begin at 12:00pm. Last year, the Pride won the title on penalty kicks.
