Manchester, N.H. — After a convincing win over Southern New Hampshire in the Northeast 10 quarterfinal, head coach Brooke DeRosa and the Adelphi women's soccer team traveled up to No. 1 seed Saint Anselm for a semifinal matchup on Thursday afternoon.
Dylann Trahey started the game off with a golden opportunity in the third minute, but Samantha Swidorski was able to get her hand on the shot and send it off the crossbar.
With rain falling, the game began to slow down, but the Panthers started to find their offensive footing.
Kayleigh Goodrich, as she has all year, peppered the Saint Anselm backline with chances, and in the 29th minute Adelphi came through.
A header from Madison Howard found Goodrich, who sprinted down the sideline and sent a perfect pass to fellow first team All-Northeast 10 member Madison Apicella. Apicella connected with the cross and put it past the keeper for a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.
Adelphi kept the pressure on and was awarded a corner kick less than 10 minutes later. Apicella swung a pass in to Carmen Reinerink. The header did not have enough pace to get past the goal line, but Sophia Cataldo was there to tap it home and give the Brown and Gold a two-goal lead.
Goodrich had two more chances but could not convert as Adelphi went into halftime up two.
Coming out of the break, Saint Anselm played aggressively. The Hawks registered two shots in the first three minutes, but one sailed high and the other was saved by Peyton DeRouen.
Adelphi had a few chances early in the half, but as time went on it was Saint Anselm that grabbed hold of the momentum.
The Hawks came through in the 66th minute to cut the lead down to one.
Both teams traded possession for the next 10 minutes until the home team got deep into the Adelphi zone. A free kick found its way into the middle of the box, and a questionable foul call on DeRouen led to a penalty kick. Saint Anselm capitalized, and the game was tied at two in the 80th minute.
The Panthers responded with great chances at goal from Goodrich, Cataldo and Apicella, but none found the back of the net.
Saint Anselm had an excellent chance as time expired, but the forward could not connect as the game headed into overtime.
Both teams had their chances in overtime. In the 104th minute, the Panthers had a great opportunity after a corner kick, but a save was made by Swidorski. Goodrich's rebound then barely sailed wide.
Right before the second overtime ended, Saint Anselm was stopped by DeRouen, and the game would be decided by penalty kicks.
Both teams missed their first penalty attempt, and then the Hawks made number two to put the pressure on Adelphi. Goodrich buried her try to tie it at one, then Saint Anselm made chance number three. The Panthers' third try went off the crossbar, and the Hawks went up 3-1 in the fourth round. Apicella kept the Panthers alive, and DeRouen made a huge save to keep the score at 3-2. Adelphi's final attempt hit the post, as Saint Anselm would move on to the final.
DeRosa and the Panthers will now await the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
