POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Fairfield University Women's Soccer team advanced to the Metro Conference Championship Semifinals as
Kaitlyn McQueeney netted the decider in penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw on the road against sixth-seeded Marist.
Ella Pisani and
Amelie Stewart notched the two goals in regulation while
Marilyn Dixon made two saves in the shootout.
"We showed a lot of character today," Head Coach
David Barrett said. "In the second half we were on the ropes and made some critical mistakes to let them back in the game. We really had to hang on but our team showed a lot of toughness and a lot of grit. Marilyn (Dixon) and Kaitlyn (McQueeney) stepped up in the penalties after being on the sidelines the whole game. I'm really proud of this group for the resiliency and character we showed today and we're please to be playing on Thursday."
Pisani set the tone as her brilliant finish in the sixth minute on a pass from
Brooke Kennedy opened the scoring and put the Stags up 1-0.
Stewart doubled up the lead just two minutes into the second half finding a pass from
Ashley McMahon and looped it over the keeper to put the score at 2-0. With the tally, Stewart took over the team lead with her ninth goal of the season.
Marist would rally with two goals in a 12-minute span coming in the 60th and 72nd minutes.
The Stags would look for the go-ahead tally in the final 28 minutes putting four shots on target but attempts from: Pisani, Stewart, and McMahon were all stopped by the keeper.
In the first overtime period, Marist found the frame twice with
Alyssa Gluting making a pair of saves to force another extra period.
In that extra frame, Fairfield put two shots on frame with Pisani and McMahon's attempt forcing a save and capped their shooting with a shot from Pisani that hit the crossbar.
In the shootout, Pisani,
Charlyse Berry, Stewart, and
Payton Zaun all were successful on their chances and Dixon stopped two of Marist's to put both teams at 4-4.
That set up the heroics of McQueeney whos brilliant cross goal effort to start the celebration.
Fairfield will now travel up to Niagara for the Metro Semifinals, the sixth-straight season they are playing the conference final four. The match will be on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6pm.
