Nazareth advances in pks following 2-2 tie with Amherst
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- In a game that was a tale of two halves, Nazareth and Amherst battled to a 2-2 tie in NCAA women's soccer action Sunday at Golden Flyer Stadium. The Golden Flyers, however, will move on to the round of 16 next weekend after winning the post-game penalty kick session over the Lord Jeffs, 4-3.
With the game officially in the record books as a 2-2 tie, Nazareth's record is now 15-3-4 overall, while Amherst's season ends at 12-5-1. Nazareth will play next weekend against the winner of the second round game between Messiah and Capital.
"It's just an incredible feeling," said Nazareth Coach
Gail Mann. "Everyone on this team is so unselfish. We play for each other."
Senior
Tori Ryan, who misfired on a chance to win the game late in the second overtime, converted the decisive penalty kick for the Golden Flyers as she placed a shot into the right side of the goal, past Amherst keeper Holly Burwick. That goal followed successful kicks by
Courtney Malia,
Paige Sullivan and
Danielle Wilkin.
Sarah Conroy also participated for Nazareth, but her shot went wide. Amherst got penalty kick goals from Hannah Guzzi, Ariana Twomey and Mel Stier. A kick by Emily Hester sailed high and one by Emma Rothkopf was saved by Nazareth keeper
Allison Dobles. The pk session was tied at 3-3 after Dobles' save and set the stage for Ryan, who delivered the kick that sent the Nazareth faithful into a spirited frenzy.
"Obviously, there's a lot of luck involved when you get to penalty kicks," Mann said. "You have to approach the penalty kicks with confidence. I think Tori stepped up there with confidence."
The game itself ended 2-2 after 90 minutes of regulation play and two 10-minute overtimes. Playing perhaps its best soccer of the season, Nazareth dominated the action in the first half and built a commanding 2-0 lead on goals by Malia and Wilkin. Nazareth also had a 9-0 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes.
Amherst came into the game having yielded just nine goals all season, with just two coming in the first half. On Sunday, the Golden Flyers struck early as Malia scored her third goal of the season in the second minute of play. Wilkin was able to beat a defender along the endline and centered a pass to
Briana Vibbard, whose initial shot was saved by Burwick before Malia kicked home the rebound.
Nazareth's second goal came in the 21
st minute after Wilkin intercepted an errant Amherst clearing pass and blasted a left-footed shot into the upper left-hand corner from about 20 yards out for her fifth goal of the season."I thought Danielle was one of the best players on the field today," Mann said.
Momentum began to shift in the second half as Amherst put the pressure on and finally scored in the 65
th minute as Guzzi scored her team-leading 10
th goal of the season as she deflected in a cross from Twomey. Amherst had an 11-5 advantage in shots in the second half and finally got the equalizing goal with just 1:56 left in regulation when Hester buried a shot into the left corner after receiving a pass from Twomey.
Amherst then had four shots in the first overtime, while Nazareth had two in the second overtime, including a good chance by Ryan that was saved by Burwick with about 2:20 left following a free kick by
Tyler Carr.
Burwick finished with 10 saves for the Lord Jeffs, while Dobles had three for Nazareth -- not counting the huge penalty kick save. Nazareth played without its second leading scorer in sophomore
Michaela Soules, who injured her knee in Saturday's 1-0 win over Worcester State. Nazareth's advancement ot the round of 16 marks the Golden Flyers' deepest post-season run in women's soccer since 1999 when they won two games before falling to Williams in the national quarterfinals.