Drexel, Northeastern, Towson, Hofstra Advance to CAA Women's Soccer Championship Semifinals
Miles McQuiggan
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. and PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 27, 2022) – No. 2 Drexel, No. 3 Northeastern, No. 5 Towson, and No. 8 Hofstra advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 CAA Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Primis with quarterfinal victories Thursday.
No. 8 Hofstra 1, No. 1 Monmouth (Hofstra 5-4 in PKs)
Krista Agostinello fired home the game-winning tally in the seventh round of penalties to advance No. 8 Hofstra to the CAA Semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.
Hofstra led for 53 minutes of regulation before Monmouth pulled even and the teams played the first full double overtime under the new NCAA rules instituted this season. The 110 minutes of game action could not settle the outcome and the contest would be decided in PKs.
Anja Suttner put one past the Monmouth defense off a free kick exactly 10 minutes in and Hofstra outshot Monmouth 5-2 in the opening half to lead 1-0 at the break.
Monmouth pulled even in the 63
rd minute, as a great ball from
A’Liah Moore led
Summer Reimet to the left side of the goal before the CAA All-Rookie Team selection took on her defender and blasted one home to bring the Hawks level.
Monmouth made its first four attempts in penalties before missing its fifth, giving Hofstra a chance to pull even on a kick by
Allison Mendes. The Hawks were unable to convert twice more before Agostinello, the grad student from Long Island, scored the clincher.
Hofstra will be the second team seeded eighth or lower to play in the conference semis, as the full quarterfinal round was re-added this year after previously being contested from 1995-99. Ninth-seeded UNCW defeated top seed Old Dominion in 1998 in Virginia Beach.
Monmouth outshot Hofstra 14-12 in the contest, including a 10-5 surge in the second half of regulation.
Cassie Coster made six saves for Monmouth, while
Skylar Kuzmich turned aside four shots for Hofstra.
The Pride will face Towson on Sunday at 2 p.m. in a neutral-site contest in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
No. 5 Towson 2, No. 4 Elon 1
Goals from
Nia Christopher and
Phoebe Canoles built a lead for Towson and the Tigers held off Elon late for the first CAA Championship victory in program history.
Christopher scored her league-leading 13
th goal of the year in the 22
nd minute and Canoles doubled the lead in the 75
th with a helper from Christopher.
Elon outshot Towson, 7-6, in the first 45 minutes before the Tigers held a 7-3 advantage after halftime. Christopher and Canoles teamed up for seven of Towson’s 13 shots and all five shots on goal.
Katie Lowe scored for Elon in the 88
th minute to cut the deficit in half and the Phoenix had the ball in the offensive end in the final minute, but a ball into the box in the final 30 seconds couldn’t connect and the Tigers were able to seal the victory.
Towson will play in the CAA Semifinals for the first time in program history; the Tigers’ previous conference tournament appearance was in the First Round in 2014.
Riley Melendez made two saves for Towson. Elon goalkeeper
McKenna Dalfonso made three stops for the Phoenix in its first CAA Championship appearance since winning the 2020-21 title.
The Tigers will face No. 8 seed Hofstra in a game in West Long Branch, New Jersey, on Sunday at 2 p.m.
No. 2 Drexel 2, No. 7 William & Mary 1
A second-half brace from
Delaney Lappin turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage as Drexel won in the CAA Championship for the first time since 2016.
The CAA Attacking Player of the Year scored twice in just over 10 minutes to help the Dragons turn the tide and secure their first appearance in the conference semifinals since 2017.
William & Mary’s
Zoe Doughty kept the game scoreless on the stop of a penalty in the 22
nd minute for one of her six saves.
Cricket Basa delivered the contest’s first goal for William & Mary with a 42
nd minute strike, as
Nicole Sellers’ free kick was sent in and deflected by
Ivey Crain to Basa, who fired it home for the 1-0 lead.
Lappin would answer with the equalizer in the 50
th minute and put the Dragons in front on a laser past Doughty in the 60
th minute. Her bid for a hat trick was denied by the crossbar six minutes later.
Casey Touey assisted on the game-tying goal and
Gabrielle Perrotto on the game-winner for Lappin, who was named CAA Attacking Player of the Year on Wednesday.
Drexel outshot William & Mary 18-7 and put eight shots on goal in the contest.
The Dragons will host Northeastern on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Vidas Field.
No. 3 Northeastern 2, No. 6 Stony Brook 1
Vivian Akyirem scored her 10
th and 11
th goals of the season and Northeastern withstood a late Stony Brook push to advance to the semifinals of the CAA Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Primis.
The Northeastern freshman scored the game’s opening goal in the 14
th minute and added another in the 59
th to help the Huskies to victory.
Nina Dooley provided an assist on Akyirem’s first score of the evening.
Stony Brook’s
Reilly Rich responded with a penalty kick goal in the 71
st minute to pull within one, but the Seawolves could not find the equalizer in the closing minutes.
Akyirem’s 11 goals are the most by a CAA freshman since Drexel’s Vanessa Kara scored 11 times in 2015 and are the second-most by a rookie nationally this season.
Northeastern is into the CAA Semifinals for the seventh-consecutive season and 12
th time as a CAA member.
Nicolette Pasquarella made four saves for Stony Brook and
Holland Stam tallied two for Northeastern. The Huskies outshot the Seawolves, 12-7, in the contest.
Northeastern will face No. 2 seed Drexel on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Philadelphia.
CAA Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Primis
Semifinals – Sunday, Oct. 30
No. 8 Hofstra vs. TBD – 2 p.m., West Long Branch, N.J. (FloFC)
No. 3 Northeastern at No. 2 Drexel – 2 p.m., Philadelphia, Pa. (FloFC)
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