Ithaca and Nazareth Co-Champions
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Nazareth and Ithaca met for the 10th time in the finals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for women's soccer Saturday with an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line. And for the sixth time in that stretch, there was no winner. The Golden Flyers and the Bombers played to a 0-0 tie and were declared E8 co-champions. Nazareth then gained the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a 4-3 advantage in the post-game penalty kick session.
Nazareth gained its ninth NCAA berth and first since 2008. Nazareth's record is now 14-3-3 overall. Ithaca is 14-3-1. Pairings for the NCAA Division III Tournament will be announced Monday at 1 p.m.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer -- 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime -- the teams were declared co-champions, just like 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2012. In the penalty kick session, junior
Dana Donnelly scored the decisive goal for the Golden Flyers.
Courtney Malia,
Sarah Conroyand
Michaela Soules had scored earlier in the session for Nazareth. Nazareth keeper
Allison Dobles, meanwhile, made two key saves during the session to stymie the Bombers, who got goals from Kelsey King, Tahylor Baranowsky and Kristyn Alonzo.
The game itself was evenly played. Nazareth had a 17-14 edge in shots, including a 7-2 edge in the two overtimes. Ithaca had seven corner kicks to six for Nazareth. Dobles made 10 saves during the game, while Ithaca's Beth Coppolecchia made eight. It was Nazareth's 10th shutout of the season, including seven for Dobles. Nazareth senior
Tyler Carr was named the game's MVP.
Soules generated six of Nazareth's shots and the best scoring chances for the Golden Flyers. She had a blast from the top of the 18-yard box midway through the second half that was saved by Coppolecchia. She also had the best opportunity in overtime on a shot from the left side of the goal that was saved again by Coppolecchia with about nine minutes left. King had four of Ithaca's shots, including one with 11 minutes to go in the first half that hit the crossbar.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Nazareth: Michaela Soules, Allie Dobles, Christine Belding, Tyler Carr (MVP)
Ithaca: Kelsey King, Taylor Baranowsky and Aimee Chimera
St. John Fisher: Molly Beaton and Chelsea Grupp
Stevens: Megan Lynes and Carly Bean