Women's Soccer Advances to NCAA East Regional Semifinal
ALBANY, NY – While the Merrimack women's soccer team
failed to register a shot on goal in regulation or overtime, the
Warriors advanced to the East Regional Semifinal over UMass-Lowell
in penalty kicks, 4-3, on Friday afternoon in Albany.
Merrimack was out-shot 12-1 in the first half and 21-4 in the
game, while UMass-Lowell grazed the crossbar twice in each half.
The Warriors withstood the barrage of River Hawk offense in the
first half, and head coach Gabe Mejail knew it
would be a battle to even force overtime.
“UMass came out with so much energy in the first 45
minutes that it meant a lot for us to hold them scoreless,”
Mejail said. “We had a few more opportunities in the second
half, but there was a good chance our best shot would be in penalty
kicks because [UMass-Lowell] has such a strong defense. Our team
showed a lot of heart and battled all game to pull this one
off.”
In addition to her eventual shoot-out winning goal, senior
captain Brittany Gustafson (East Hampton, CT)
stopped three penalty kicks after a season-high 12 saves in
regulation and the two overtimes.
Two years ago when the UMass-Lowell and Merrimack matched up as
the fourth and fifth seeds of the region, respectively, the
Warriors also came out on top, 1-0, before dropping a 3-1 contest
to the College of Saint Rose—who they will meet on Sunday at
1:00pm. The game is scheduled to kick-off at The Albany Academy
pending the forecasted weather.
The win also marks the seventh trip in the past nine years to
the East Regional semifinal for Merrimack.
In a re-match with the Golden Knights on Sunday, the Warriors
look to avenge a 2-0 Northeast-10 Conference semifinal loss they
suffered just over a week ago in Albany.
NCAA East Region
Game 1: #5 Merrimack def. #4UMass-Lowell, 0-0 (4-3
PKs)
Game 2: #5 Merrimack @ #1 Saint Rose – 1:00pm
Game 3: #3 Franklin Pierce def. #6 Holy Family, 2-0
Game 4: #3 Franklin Pierce @ #2 Bridgeport
East Regional Final: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4
