Box Score
Scranton, PA – Jen Dexter scored in the 11th round of a sudden death shootout to send Centenary College to the Colonial States Athletic Conference Final after the Cyclones and Marywood University played to a 2-2 tie in women's soccer action on Wednesday. Centenary, now 13-7-1 on the season, will face the winner of tonight's other semifinal game between top seeded Cabrini College and fifth seeded Immaculata University in Saturday's championship game.
Centenary opened the scoring just 3:18 into Wednesday's contest when Caitlin Veverka headed in a corner kicked served in by Tatiana Kingston. It would take just 18 seconds for Marywood to equalize though, as Emma Nye (Keene, NY) scored on a rebound of an Erin Jones shot that Cyclones' goalkeeper Ashley Denti could not corral.
Jones (Vestal, NY) would give the Pacers the lead in the 36th minute when she turned and lofted a shot over Denti from 20 yards out. Marywood would hold onto the one-goal lead at halftime as goalkeeper Meghan Coyle (Endicott, NY) made two saves and a wall blocked a dangerous free kick from 19 yards out late in the period.
Centenary would knot the score in the 53rd minute by taking advantage of another corner kick. Kingston again found Veverka's head on the service, where the center back nodded the ball down to Jazmine Farrell, who scored from close range. The teams would finish 90 minutes of play level at 2-2, with the Cyclones holding a 15-13 edge in shots for the game.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in 20 minutes of extra time with Centenary holding a 5-1 edge in shots in overtime. Coyle twice thwarted breakaway opportunities by Farrell to help send the game to a shootout.
The two teams remained deadlock after the first five shooters, with each team converting four penalty kicks. The shootout moved to sudden death, where Centenary had a chance to close out the shootout three times, but Coyle kept the Pacers alive each time. After a Marywood miss in the 11th round of the shootout, Jen Dexter scored to clinch the Cyclones' spot in the championship game.
Coyle finished the game with nine saves while also turning aside four Centenary attempts in the shootout.
Marywood, now 13-4-2 on the season, will now await word on a berth in the ECAC Tournament.
