Falcons Upset RWU 2-1 in OT to Advance to ECAC Final

Photo by Ron Waite
Photo by Ron Waite

Danielle Polvan (East Haven, Conn.) finished on a loose ball in the box, scoring the game-winning goal in the 91st minute to give the Albertus Magnus women's soccer team a 2-1 overtime victory over top-seeded Roger Williams University on Saturday afternoon in the ECAC Tournament semifinal round.

Senior Meghan Loughman (Trumbull, Conn.) sent a corner into the box which deflected off of the head of Meaghan Skidmore (Terryville, Conn.) and to the foot of Polvan, who drilled in her eighth goal of the season. 

With the win, the fifth-seeded Falcons upset Roger Williams, a team that was ranked nationally for a majority of the season.  The Falcons improve to 14-4-3 on the year with the win, while they hand the Hawks just their third loss of the season as they finish the year with an 18-3-3 overall record.

Roger Williams took a 1-0 lead in the 69th minute as Hannah Noel scored her 12th goal of the season as she finished on a feed into the box by Kristen Casey.

The Falcons battled back and came-from-behind, as they did in their ECAC quarterfinal win at Framingham State on Wednesday. In the 79th minute of play, Albertus tied the contest at one as Shelley Mirmina (Milford, Conn.) sent a cross into the box where freshman Kaitlyn Fedumenti (Stratford, Conn.) was able to finish with a remarkable strike into the side netting past the stretched-out keeper. 

For Fedumenti, it was her first career goal as a Falcon, while Mirmina picked up her 16th career assist, tying her in first place with current teammate Amanda Roke (Cheshire, Conn.) on the Falcons' all-time list.

After the game was forced into overtime, it did not take the Falcons long to score the game winner.  With their first corner attempt in the extra minutes, they were able to connect to advance to the ECAC New England Championship game on Sunday.

Maria Case (West Haven, Conn.) made seven stops in net for the Falcons in her 14th win of the year.  Roger Williams' Stephanie Jaques made one stop as she saw just three shots on goal.

The Hawks outshot the Falcons 13-6 on the afternoon and held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

Roger Williams was led by four shots by both Katie Lydon and Hannah Noel.

Albertus will face No. 3 Wheaton on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 12:30 p.m. in New Haven for the ECAC Championship Final.