Marywood Wins CSAC Championship
Marywood women's soccer team won the CSAC Championship Game Saturday and earned an automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Marywood Wins CSAC Championship

- 11/8/2008 4:10:11 PM

BOX SCORE

Scranton, PA – Marywood University scored a goal in each half and the defense shutdown visiting Gwynedd-Mercy College as the Pacers claimed the women's soccer team's first-ever conference championship with a 2-0 win over the visiting Griffins in Saturday afternoon's Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Final. With the win, Marywood earns an automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

On an overcast afternoon in Scranton, Marywood pressured early and nearly took the early lead in the 14th minute when Lisa Hanselman's (Manheim, PA) header was cleared off the line by a Gwynedd-Mercy defender and Griffins' goalkeeper Kristie Pollock (Kennett Square, PA) saved Kaitlyn Hresko's (Gibbstown, NJ) rebound opportunity.

In the 28th minute, the Pacers would get a game-changing break as Amanda Costello (Sussex, NJ) sent a dangerous cross into Gwyendd-Mercy's penalty box that Jen Slesinski (Middletown, NY) redirected toward the Griffins' goal. A Gwynedd-Mercy defender cleared the ball off the line, only to have the ball redirect off a teammate and into her own net, giving the Pacers' a 1-0 lead.

The Griffins looked to respond and CSAC Rookie of the Year Gwen Conte (Cherry Hill, NJ) nearly did so in the 33rd minute, but her shot from 16 yards out sailed just wide of the far post and Marywod went into halftime with the one-goal advantage.

The two teams traded opportunities over the first twenty minutes of the second stanza, with the host Pacers holding a 5-4 advantage in shots over that time period. The Griffins had perhaps the most dangerous opportunity of that period though when Conte's free kick from 23 yards out sailed just inches over Marywood's crossbar.

With Gwynedd-Mercy pushing numbers forward looking for the equalizer, Marywood was able to generate a counterattack in the 76th minute with Erica Mechalke (Elmira, NY) making a long run with the ball down the left flank. The junior fired a left-footed shot that beat Pollock and landed in the side-netting for her fourth goal of the season and an insurance goal for the Pacers.

From there on the Pacers defense, led by Hresko, twin-sister Shannon Hresko, Andrea Barker (Binghamton, NY), Jennifer Cady (Troupsburg, NY), and Stephanie Hoffman (Binghamton, NY) stood tall, denying the visitors any more dangerous looks at net.

Conte finished with a game-high six shots including three on goal, but Meghan Coyle (Endicott, NY) was equal to the test each time and finished with six saves as the Pacers completed their ninth shutout of the season. Christina Diehl (Coopersburg, PA) closed out the game in Marywood's net without making a save.

Coyle, who finished the regular season with eight shutouts and boasts a 1.03 goals against average, was named the CSAC postseason MVP. The sophomore net minder allowed just one goal in two CSAC playoff games this year and made 10 saves. She also stopped the first two shootout attempts as Marywood advanced past Cabrini College in penalty kicks in the semifinal round.

Pollock made nine saves in nearly 87 minutes of action for Gwynedd-Mercy. Abby Reed (Manheim, PA) played the final 3:08 in the Griffins' goal without registering a save.

Marywood finished the game with a 15-10 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

With the win, the Pacers earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the first in program history, and also the first time a Marywood team has made an appearance in the national tournament since the women's basketball team accomplished the feat in 1987.

Marywood will find out on Monday who they will play in the first round of NCAA's during the Selection show for the women's soccer Division III tournament, which can be seen live on www.NCAA.com at noon EST.

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