Box Score KEENE, N.H. 11/13/10 - Senior forward Nora Mahoney (Belchertown, Mass.) scored a goal with 16 seconds left in the second overtime to lift the Owls past MCLA 2-1 in the ECAC Northeast Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex. In the other semifinal game, Endicott College topped UMass Boston 3-0 to advance to the finals.
Senior forward Katie Bradford (Lebanon, N.H.) sent the ball into the box on a nice flick pass to find the streaking Mahoney for the game-winner to put the Owls in the ECAC finals.
After a scoreless first the pace quickened in the second period. MCLA hit the scoreboard first, just over two and a half minutes into the stanza, as the Trailblazers earned a throw in deep in the Owls zone. Freshman midfielder Ashlee Scofield (Averill Park, N.Y.) put the ball into the box and found a wide open Jess Tietgens (Stamford, Vermont) for the senior's team-leading 18th goal of the season.
KSC hit the scoreboard at the 34:14 mark when sophomore Erin Griffin (Londonderry, N.H.) scored off a pass from Mahoney to even the game at 1-1.
The Owls had two great chances down the stretch to end the game. Junior defender Bridget Hennessey (Essex Junction, Vermont) took a free-kick from 25 yards out and forced Trailblazer goalie Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, N.Y.) to make a nice jump-save by tipping the ball over the net.
On the ensuing Owl corner kick junior Sia Karamourtopolous (Sandown, N.H.) had a header going right for the goal when MCLA sophomore Shannon Maloney (Cheshire, Mass.) hugged the post and kicked the ball out to stop the KSC scoring chance.
In the first overtime, the Trailblazers had the first chance to strike just three minutes in, when Tietgens took a lead pass and beat the Owls defense only to rocket the shot just wide of the net. KSC senior forward Katie Bradford (Lebanon, N.H.) had the best Owl chance of the stanza with just over two and a half minutes left, but the shot sailed just wide to force the 2nd overtime.
Tietgens continued to add pressure in the second overtime, forcing Owl goalie Megan Dempsey (East Weymouth, Mass.) to come way out of the box and kick the ball away with 8:30 remaining in the period. Just over a minute later, Tietgens almost ended the game when her shot clanked off the post and was cleared out by the Owl defense to keep the tie.
KSC outshot the Trailblazers 25-11 in the game and 5-1 in the second overtime. The Owls also had an eight-to-two advantage in corner kicks.
Dempsey made two saves in net for the Owls in the win, while Wehner made nine saves for MCLA in the losing effort.
In the nightcap, Endicott netted the lone goal in the first half, when senior midfielder Sarah Johnson (Harrisville, R.I.) took a cross from Karyn Plante (Sanford, Maine) at the 38:49 mark to put the Gulls up 1-0.
Endicott controlled the second-half, scoring two more unanswered goals. Just over five minutes into the period, junior Colleen Pepin (Fairhaven, Mass.) took a pass right up the middle from Johnson and beat the UMass Boston goalie Katie Coscia (Pittsfield, Mass.) for the 2-0 advantage.
Endicott added their third goal of the game on a crossing pass from sophomore Micaela Hogan (Salisbury, Mass.) to a wide open Heather Moody (Dunstable, Mass.) for the 3-0 victory.
Coscia finished with 11 saves in the losing effort, while Gull netminder Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H.) finished the game with four saves in the shutout.
The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. at Owl Athletic Complex.
