Women’s Soccer Falls to Albertus Magnus in ECAC Quarterfinals
Framingham, Mass. – The fifth seed Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team tallied four second half goals to come from behind and defeat the fourth seed Framingham State University Rams 4-3 this afternoon in one quarterfinal of the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Women's Soccer Championships at Maple Street Field.
The Falcons improve to 13-4-3 on the year and advance to Saturday's semifinals where they will face the winner of the Roger Williams/Elms quarterfinal which is being played later today. The Rams, the 2013 MASCAC regular season champions, finish the season 13-3-1.
The Rams grabbed a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in a five minute span early in the first half. Junior Marisa Parent (Revere, Mass.) snatched the ball from a Falcon defender in the box and sent a cross in front of the goal. Senior Cara Murtagh (Quincy, Mass.) headed the cross home for her fourth of the season. Senior Kayla Austin (Winchester, Mass.), the 2013 MASCAC Player of the Year, extended the Rams lead in the 17th minute as she carried the ball through the Falcon defense and sent a low shot inside the far post for her 14th of season.
The Falcons got on the board just 3:55 into the second half when senior Amanda Roke (Cheshire, CT) sent a long pass down the middle to classmate Shelley Mirmina (Milford, CT) who beat the Rams goalkeeper with a well placed shot. Just under two minutes later the Falcons struck again tying the game at 2-2. Senior Meaghan Skidmore (Terryville, CT) carried the ball down the left sideline and lofted a cross that senior Meghan Loughman (Trumbull, CT) knocked home for her third of the season.
Two minutes later the Rams grabbed the lead back with a goal off one of their six corners in the game. Austin sent the corner into the box and sophomore Marissa Miele (Hudson, Mass.) found the back of the net just inside the left post for her second of the season and the 3-2 advantage in the 53rd minute.
Albertus would tie the game and take the lead for good on a pair of unassisted goals from Roke. The Falcons received a direct kick from 25 yards out straight on the goal after a Framingham foul in the 67th minute. Roke took the kick and sent a blast left of the wall that slipped inside the post for her 11th of the season. Four minutes later, Roke struck again for the game-winner when she collected a loose ball that had been deflected by a pair of Ram defenders and lifted a shot that snuck inside the far left post.
The Rams had a pair of quality chances down the stretch to record the equalizer, but freshman Angela Pallotta's (Sterling, Mass.) bid sailed just high with eight minutes left on the clock. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, the Rams had their final corner. Austin sent the ball into the box and Miele got a good look at the net, but the Falcon defender on the post saved Miele's shot to secure the win.
The Rams outshot the Falcons 23-12 in the game and held a 6-3 edge in corners. Sophomore Sara Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) made three saves and was tagged with the loss for the Rams, while sophomore Maria Case (West Haven, CT) made seven stops to record her 13th victory of the season.