Box Score CRESSON, Pa. – Playing the in AMCC tournament semifinal match for the first time since 2013, the third-seeded Franciscan women's soccer team did something that no soccer team at FUS has done before and won its semifinal match to advance to the conference championship game. The Lady Barons defeated second-seeded Mt. Aloysius 4-1, Wednesday afternoon.
The win improves the Lady Barons to 10-8 on the year while Mt. Aloysius wraps up its season at 12-6-1.
In their third trip to the AMCC tournament, the Lady Barons looked to carry their momentum from their 4-3 win in the conference quarterfinals into their second-round game. Mt. Aloysius got on the board first, finishing off a corner kick in the sixth minute to take a 1-0 lead. The Lady Barons responded and ultimately took control of the rest of the match.
"I am really just proud of how they came together and really played as a team," remarked head coach Clare McBane following the win. "We have been growing and getting better each game, and it was great for them to taste the fruits of their effort with this win."
Following the goal, junior Sarah Luebking made three-straight saves to keep the score close over the next 13 minutes. Junior Emily Wieszczek got a shot off that went wide before another Luebking save. With 12:01 to play in the first half, the Lady Barons reaped the benefits of their hard work. Senior Clare Kennedy sent a through ball through the box for Wieszczek who slotted it home into the corner of the net to tie the game, 1-1.
Wieszczek's third goal in two games sparked the Lady Baron offense as senior Megan Luiso buried the next shot for Franciscan low into the corner for the eventual game-winner as the Lady Barons took the lead, 2-1, with 11:15 to play in the half. Franciscan got one more shot off and the Mounties took two more in the final minutes of the first, but Franciscan carried the 2-1 lead into the break.
Following the break, Franciscan did not take its foot off the gas and continued to put pressure on the Mounties. After being called for offsides, the Lady Barons got the ball back and junior Elizabeth Dawyot made it a 3-1 game with her fourth goal of the year. Dawyot took a pass from Kennedy and shot it into the right corner of the net for the score.
Just under three minutes later, Luiso capped the scoring with her 10th goal of the season as she shot the ball into the far left corner of the net from the top of the 18-yard box.
Luebking made four more saves in the final 18 minutes of action to keep the Mounties off the board in the second, including one with nine seconds remaining on the clock. In total, Luebking made 10 saves for her eighth win of the year for the Lady Barons.
"This was one of the hardest Players of the Match we have ever had to give out," remarked Coach McBane. "IT was a true team win today. We just played so well together and had some really great combination play it was hard to single out one player. But Elizabeth Dawyot really earned it. She played excellent in the midfield today and was so crucial to our builds on offense. Today was one of her best games of the year."
Dawyot earned the team's Player of the Match after scoring her fourth goal of the year in the 67th minute. Luiso finished the day with a pair of goals while Wieszczek added a goal. Kennedy handed out a pair of assists for the Lady Barons.
The win sends the Lady Barons to the AMCC Championship game for the first time in program history where they will square off against top-seeded Penn St.-Behrend in Erie, Pa at 4:00 pm.
