Elms Earns Victory in Penalties to Win GNAC Women’s Soccer Play-In Match
GNAC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
WINTHROP, Mass. – No. 9 seed Elms earned a spot in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Championship Quarterfinals after picking up a win in penalties in the GNAC Play-In Round on Friday (Oct. 27) night.
The Blazers were able to pull out the victory over No. 8 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine). The two teams played a tight match with the only scores during the run of play coming less than a minute apart. After a scoreless overtime, Elms prevailed in kicks from the penalty mark, 6-5.
The GNAC Quarterfinals are scheduled to kick off on Saturday, Oct. 28 with three matches. No. 7 seed Rivier will travel to No. 2 seed Emmanuel at 1 p.m. in one match. The other two matches feature No. 3 seed Lasell hosting No. 6 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at 1:30 p.m. and No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer hosting No. 5 seed Regis at noon.
With the second Play-In match being postponed until Friday, Elms will travel to Providence to play No. 1 seed Johnson & Wales on Sunday, Oct. 29.
The four quarterfinal winners will advance to the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1 with the two semifinal winners earning berths into the 2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 4. The team that takes the conference crown will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.
#9 Elms 1, #8 Saint Joseph's (Maine) 1 (pen. 6-5 Elms)
Recap courtesy of the Elms Athletic Communications Department.
NASHUA, N.H. – The Elms College Women's Soccer Team defeated Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Friday night at Rivier University in a GNAC Play-In game.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the result, the Blazers move on to the quarterfinal round of the GNAC Tournament and will play at top-seeded Johnson & Wales University on Sunday at 5 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a scoreless first half both teams came out of the break with a sense of urgency and several scoring chances were the result.
Blazers senior keeper Angela Picheo kept the game scoreless with a big stop early in the second. Plenty of back-and-forth play followed before the Blazers found the back of the Monks net. Freshman Emily Basua broke the scoreless tie with a nifty deflection off a Kelly Malheiro right-to-left pass in the box at the 72:20 mark. Less than a minute later, SJC found the equalizer, momentum seemed to be in the Monks' favor during the following 10-minute segment, but the Elms defense held strong, sending the Play-In game to overtime.
During the two overtime frames the Blazers dominated play holding a 6-1 shots advantage as SJC keeper turned away a pair of point-blank shots to preserve the 1-1 score and force PK's.
In the penalty kick shootout, the teams stood at a 3-3 tie through five attempts per side to force a golden goal scenario. Audri Cope, Lindsey Jeffrey, and Caroline Wilcox hit pay dirt for the Blazers. Picheo would come up big stopping the Monks 8th shooter, giving Elms the shootout win, sending the Blazers on to the GNAC Quarterfinals.
2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament Schedule
Play-In – Thursday, Oct. 26
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#7 Rivier def. #10 Albertus Magnus, 4-0 | BOX
Play-In – Friday, Oct. 27
(Hosted at Rivier University – Nashua, N.H.)
#9 Elms def. #8 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 1-1 (pen. 6-5 Elms) | BOX
Quarterfinals – Saturday, Oct. 28
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#7 River at #2 Emmanuel, 1 p.m.
#6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at #3 Lasell, 1:30 p.m.
#5 Regis at #4 Colby-Sawyer, Noon
Quarterfinals – Sunday, Oct. 29
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#9 Elms at #1 Johnson & Wales, TBD
Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 1
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#1/8/9 Winner vs. #4/5 Winner, TBD
#2/7 Winner vs. #3/6 Winner, TBD
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 4
Semifinal winners, TBD
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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