McCauley, Shepherd Provide Semifinal Tallies To Send Northeastern And Hofstra To CAA Women's Soccer Championship Final

11/4/2021 10:35:16 PM

Miles McQuiggan

ELON, N.C. (Nov. 4, 2021) – Northeastern’s Kayla McCauley and Hofstra’s Lucy Shepherd scored second-half goals to back up strong performances by their defenses Thursday, as the Huskies toppled UNCW and Pride downed James Madison to advance to Sunday’s final of the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Primis.

(4) Northeastern 1, (1) UNCW 0
Northeastern senior Kayla McCauley broke through in the 88^th minute to lift the Huskies past top seed UNCW at a rainy Rudd Field on the campus of Elon University.

McCauley connected off passes across the box from Nina Dooley and Megan Putvinski to send the ball past the Seahawk goalkeeper. The goal was McCauley’s first of the year.

The late strike backed up a clean sheet from Angeline Friel, who recorded three saves, including a diving stop in the 40^th minute to send the game to the half scoreless.

UNCW’s Audrey Harding registered the contest’s first chance in the sixth minute, ringing a shot off the right post from about 12 yards out. The Seahawks would earn another opportunity from Harding right before the half that was stopped by Friel.

The Huskies recorded five of the second half’s six shot attempts and took both corners after halftime. Both were shifts from the first half, in which UNCW outshot Northeastern 5-3 and took three of the four corner kicks.

Northeastern is back in the CAA Championship final for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017 that included the 2016 CAA title. It is the Huskies’ third appearance in the game under Ashley Phillips.

(2) Hofstra 1, (3) James Madison 0
Hofstra held a 19-1 advantage in shot attempts and capitalized on a tally from Lucy Shepherd in the 67^th minute to send the Pride to the CAA title game.

The Pride peppered the third-seeded Dukes and earned all 10 corners in the match while forcing JMU goalkeeper Alexandra Blom to make six saves. The Dukes’ only shot attempt in the contest was in the 60^th minute and stopped by Skylar Kuzmich for the lone save of the night in her 11^th shutout of the year. Hofstra has outshot its last two opponents by a margin of 53-2.

Hofstra put on early pressure with eight shots and five corners in the first 15 minutes of the contest. The Pride dominated the opening half with a 13-0 margin in shots and 7-0 in corners.

The Pride had chances throughout the match, including a great play by Shepherd to get past her defender before sailing it just outside the left post in the 57^th minute. The game-winner would come 10 minutes later, as her corner from the right side deflected in front of Blom and trickled in for the game’s only score.

Hofstra is in the CAA Championship final for the fourth time in the last five seasons, having won three in a row from 2017-19. The Pride will play in the title game for the ninth time in Simon Riddiough’s tenure.

CAA Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Primis
Final – Sunday, Nov. 7
(2) Hofstra vs. (4) Northeastern – 1 p.m., FloFC

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