Bridgeport, Conn. – Despite a goal from senior Haley Noble (Torrance, Calif./Torrance), the No. 3 seeded Mercy College women's soccer team and the No. 6 seeded College of Saint Rose played to a 1-1 tie in the First Round of the 2018 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships with the Golden Knights advancing 4-3 on penalty kicks on Friday afternoon at the Knights Field.
The Mavericks (12-3-2) see their season come to an end, while the Golden Knights (13-4-4) will face the winner of Bridgeport/Stonehill on Sunday in the Second Round.
Noble recorded her team-leading 13th goal of the season and junior Natalia Elizarraras (Whittier, Calif./Los Altos) had a team-high two shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Torres (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada) made three saves.
Saint Rose was led by Nina Predanic who scored her 16th goal of the season and Marika Laurendeau made three saves.
The Golden Knights had the first scoring chance of the game in the 10th minute when Predanic hit the crossbar. The two goalkeepers traded saves in the 22nd and 27th minutes to keep the game scoreless.
Saint Rose broke the scoring drought in the 34th minute when Predanic hit a shot to the top corner from the top of the box to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 heading into halftime with Saint Rose holding a 6-4 advantage in shots.
The second half saw the Mavericks come out as the aggressors and Elizarraras forced Laurendeau to make a save in the 59th minute. Torres later made a save in the 64th minute, leading up to Noble's goal that would tie the game up in the 71st minute. The senior tapped the ball into the net following a defensive miscue by Saint Rose after a Mercy free kick taken by Jess Brandt (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) making it 1-1.
The Mavericks drew a foul in the box in the 85th minute, but Laurendeau was up to the challenge and made a stop on an Elizarraras penalty kick to keep the score at 1-1. The score remained 1-1 at the end of the regulation so the teams headed to overtime.
The first overtime period saw Brandt hit the crossbar in the 98th minute, but neither was able to score so another overtime session would be needed. The teams traded shots in the second overtime team and no one would score so the teams headed to penalty kicks.
Saint Rose made their first three attempts in the shootout and Mercy missed their first before making their next two to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of Saint Rose. Deanna Trongone made it 4-2 before Elizarraras connected to bring the Mavericks within, 4-3. Torres then came up with a big stop, but senior Rebecca Conway (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) could not finish off her penalty kick and the Golden Knights survived and advanced to the next round.
Mercy held a 15-12 edge in shots and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
