Hofstra Advances Past W&M 4-2 On PK's

11/3/2012 3:08:00 AM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (November 2, 2012) - Fifth-seeded Hofstra edged #1 William & Mary 4-2 on penalty kicks after the two teams fought to a 0-0 double-overtime draw in the semifinals of the CAA Women's Soccer Championship on Friday night at Martin Family Stadium at Albert/Daly Field.

The Pride (10-8-2) will face third-seeded UNCW in the CAA championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. It will be the fifth appearance in the CAA championship game for Hofstra, which won the conference title in 2005 and 2007. William & Mary, which was the defending tournament champion, is now 14-5-1 after the tie.

All four games of the CAA Women's Soccer Championship have gone to penalty kicks.

Hofstra converted all four of its penalty kick attempts as Sam Scolarici, Jeannine Molleda, Anya Koren and Brooke Bendernagel found the back of the net. W&M first two shooters - Dani Rutter and Emily Fredrikson - made their attempts before Pride goalkeeper Emily Morphitis came up with back-to-back stops to send Hofstra to the finals.

Hofstra's best two scoring chances came in overtime. Midway through the first overtime session, sophomore Lulu Echeverry sent a pass into the box to Molleda, who fired a 15-yard laser towards the right side of the net. W&M freshman goalkeeper Caroline Casey was up to the challenge, however, making a diving stop.

Casey came up huge again with three minutes left in the second overtime. Scolarici got open in the box and sent a hard 15-yard shot towards the left side of the goal, but Casey made a fingertip stab to send the contest into penalty kicks.

W&M nearly got on the board following a wild flurry in the opening two minutes of the second half. All-CAA midfielder Cortlyn Bristol had a one-on-one attempt smothered by Morphitis. The rebound came out to CAA Player of the Year Mallory Schaffer, who had her shot blocked by diving Hofstra defender Brooke Bendernagel. The Tribe controlled play for most of the period, out-shooting Hofstra 9-3 over the second 45 minutes.

Hofstra had a narrow 6-5 shot advantage in the opening half. The Pride's best chance came in the 13^th minute when Scolarici's header from the middle of the box was stopped by Casey. The Tribe had a header from Barbara Platenberg go wide of the net midway through the period and a 20-yard blast from Bristol graze the top of the crossbar in the 34^th minute.

Hofstra finished the contest with a 15-13 shot advantage. Casey made a season-high 10 saves for the Tribe while Morphitis had three stops for Hofstra.