New Haven, Conn. – On the heels of a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory against seventh-seeded Suffolk in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinals, the No. 3 seed Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team is preparing for the GNAC Championship.
The Falcons will travel to the Bay State to square off with top-seeded and six-time defending league champion Lasell on Saturday, November 5, for a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The contest is slated to begin at 1:00 pm at Taylor Field in Newton, Massachusetts.
Albertus Magnus enters the weekend with an 11-7-1 overall record and the Falcons earned the No. 3 seed and a pair of home games in the GNAC Tournament thanks to a 7-3-1 mark in league play. The 11 wins are tied for the third-most in program history.
Albertus Magnus is making its 10th appearance in the GNAC Tournament, having posted a 4-7-2 mark after Wednesday's shutout win. Two of the past three seasons, the team has seen its season come to an end in penalty kicks after playing to a draw. The victory versus Suffolk at home gave Albertus Magnus its first GNAC Championship game appearance in program history. The squad is the fifth women's team in school history, and just the second in the last 18 years, to play for a GNAC title.
AMC is 0-1 all-time in postseason play against Lasell with the only meeting coming in the tournament semifinals in 2014. The Falcons have advanced out of the first round of the league tournament for the first time since 2014 and the third time overall.
Lasell has won the last seven meetings with Albertus Magnus and has kept the Falcons off the scoreboard in six of those contests. Albertus Magnus is 0-9-2 all-time against the Lasers, scoring a pair of 2-2 draws in both 2009 and 2010. AMC is looking to avenge a 2-0 setback against Lasell on the road earlier this autumn. In that contest, Morgan Pinksten and Carly Zdanek scored for the hosts and Sarah LaClair turned aside both shots she faced to record the shutout. After a slow start, the Lasers have reeled off 17 straight wins to enter the weekend with a 17-2-1 mark.
It has been a record-breaking season for the Falcons, as senior midfielder Danielle Polvan (East Haven, Conn.) became the school's all-time leader in goals and points. Head Coach Nick Wajnowski also became the first coach in program history to reach 100 career wins, as he currently sits at 103. He is the winningest coach in program history and he earned his 100th win in a 7-0 whitewashing of Suffolk at home last week.
Last time out, senior Taylor Rotella (Milford, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal in overtime and sophomore goalkeeper Lexie Fenn (Oakville, Conn.) stopped all four shots she faced to post her fifth shutout of the autumn. Fenn's clean sheet was her second in a row and all five have come against conference opponents this season. Late in the second overtime frame, Rotella headed the game-winner past Suffolk goalkeeper Kirsten Weiker off a corner from sophomore midfielder Kerrigan Loughman (Trumbull, Conn.). The marker was Rotella's sixth of the season and her second game-winner of 2016. Loughman picked up her team-leading seventh assist of the year on a beautiful cross from the corner. Check out Rotella's game-winner!
Polvan leads the team this fall in goals (10), points (23), shots (66) and shots on goal (39). Junior Angelina Piccirillo (Naugatuck, Conn.) has had a breakout year for the Falcons, scoring six goal to go along with one assist for 13 points. All 13 of her points have come in GNAC play and she netted a team-best four game-winning goals. Classmate Alexya Alves (Naugatuck, Conn.) has also enjoyed success this year, totaling 13 points courtesy of five goals and a trio of helpers. Other contributors offensively have been Loughman, junior Amanda Montano (North Haven, Conn.) and senior Liz Nagy (Meriden, Conn.). Loughman leads the team with seven assists, Montano has scored five goals after missing the beginning of the season and Nagy has set new career-highs in goals, assists and points this year.
Defensively, seniors Alexis Mack (Meriden, Conn.), Rotella and Bridget Judd (Branford, Conn.) along with juniors Piccirillo and Nikki Kern (Wallingford, Conn.) have anchored the Falcon backline this year. The Albertus Magnus defense ranked third in the conference in goals-against average and has recorded nine shutouts. The team was one of three in the league that allowed less than one goal per game.
In net, Fenn has played solid all autumn. In her first season as a starter, Fenn has posted a 1.27 goals-against average with 70 saves, a .778 save percentage, five shutouts and a 9-7-1 record. She currently ranks fourth in program history in shutouts and sixth in saves.
