Bridgeport, Conn. - A strike from the penalty spot with just over two minutes to play in regulation by junior forward Maegen Doyle (Harwich, England), her second goal of the match, lifted the University of Bridgeport women's soccer team to the 2018 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament title with a hard-fought, 2-1, victory over the visiting LIU Post Pioneers on Saturday night at Knights Field.  The win gives the top-seeded Purple Knights their fifth ECC Championship Tournament crown in program history, and the team's fourth in the last six seasons.  Bridgeport also won this season's ECC regular season title.

Doyle scored from the spot after teammate Andrea Basilicato (Soph., Guilford, Conn.) was brought down in the penalty area. 

With the win on Saturday, UB (14-4-1 overall record) receives an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Tournament which will begin on Friday, November 9th.  LIU Post, the number three seed in this year's ECC Championship, is now 12-3-3 on the season, and the Pioneers will await word on an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship when the pairings are announced on Monday evening at 6:30 p.m.

After a scoreless first 45 minutes, Bridgeport got on the board first when Doyle, who was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of 2018 ECC Women's Soccer Championship scoring two goals in both the semifinals and finals plus chipping one assist for nine total points, fired home the first of her two tallies on Saturdaywith a wicked free kick from just outside the top of the penalty area.  Her two goals on Saturday give Maegen a total of 23 on the season.

LIU Post would battle back to tie the match at 1-1 in the 78th minute when sophomore Samantha Gordon rose above everyone and headed home her seventh goal of 2018 off a lovely corner kick service from junior Alice Schoenfeldt.

Doyle's match-winner would come just under ten minutes later to send the Bridgeport supporters into a frenzy.

LIU Post senior goalkeeper Hillevi Eklow made eight saves for the Pioneers, and Bridgeport senior keeper Jennifer Wendelius (Lidingo, Sweden) made four stops to notch win number 14 of the season in net.

Provided by the Bridgeport Sports Information Department.