Box Score
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
KING'S WOMEN'S SOCCER FALLS TO DESALES IN MAC FREEDOM SEMIFINAL, 3-1
CENTER VALLEY, PA --- The second-seeded DeSales University women's soccer team scored two second half goals to defeat third-seeded King's College 3-1 on Tuesday afternoon in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Semifinal game in Center Valley.
The Monarchs see their season end in the MAC Freedom semifinals for the second straight year, also falling to DeSales on the road last year 1-0. The Monarchs finish the year with an 8-7-2 overall record. DeSales improves to 13-5 overall and advances to Saturday's Championship game against the winner of the other semifinal game between Wilkes and Misericordia.
King's had a good chance to take an early lead six minutes in when Ivy Nulton received a cross near the top of the box but her shot sailed just high of the net. Angelica Bertola gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when she received a pass from Danni Engwall on the right wing and was able to sneak the ball over the goalie into the upper left of the net. The Monarchs evened the score 13 minutes later when Amy Barge found the back of the net on a free kick from just above the top of the box. The Monarchs had a few chances to score at the end of the half but were unable to score. First, with 48 seconds left Kristen Ryan headed a ball towards goal that was saved by a Bulldog defender, and then with 27 seconds left Alexandra Garrett was unable to get her shot past Emily Hoats.
The Monarchs came out strong to begin the second half and had shots by Erin Laird and Andrea Galvin kept out of the net by the Bulldog defense in the first few minutes of the half. Barge just missed her second goal of the game and giving the Monarchs the lead in the 56th minute when her free kick from the top of the box just went wide left of the net and a diving goalkeeper. For the first 25 minutes of the half the Monarchs were able to keep the high-scoring Bulldog offense in check by controlling possession and keeping the ball on in their offensive half of the field.
The Bulldog offense finally broke through in the 76th minute to gain a 2-1 lead when Rachel Shive gathered a loose ball in the box and was able to sneak the ball inside the right post. Jess Wetherhold added an insurance goal in the 80th minute to set the final score. The Bulldog defense held the Monarchs without a shot for the last 26 minutes of the game.
The Bulldogs had a 16-11 shot advantage but the Monarchs were able to hold a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. Emily Hoats made three saves in goal to record the win for the Bulldogs while Jessica Natale made four saves in goal for the Monarchs.
Jessica Natale, Lindsey Humanik, Ivy Nulton, Michelle Spataro, Shannon Laird, Erin Laird, Alexandra Garrett, Elizabeth Reif, and Gabrielle Murphy all see their King's career end after becoming the first class in program history to reach the MAC Freedom Tournament and advance to the MAC Freedom Championship game three years ago and the first class to play in the three consecutive MAC Freedom Tournaments.
