READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions women's soccer team scored a goal in each half, and would hold off Juniata by a score of 2-1 in the first round of the ECAC Championship on Saturday night at Shirk Stadium.
With the win, the Lions improve to 11-8-1 on the season and will advance to the pod 4 final against Penn State Harrisburg tomorrow after they defeated Lebanon Valley 2-0. Meanwhile, the Eagles conclude their season with a 10-9 record.
The Lions had an opportunity right off the bat to score in the third minute when a penalty kick was awarded after a hand ball in the box. Junior
Erica Bross took the shot for the Lions and went low to the right corner of the net, but was saved by Juniata goalkeeper Shannon Kriz. Juniata then countered with a chance of their own in the eighth minute when Meadow Walshaw-Wertz broke up the left side but sent her shot just wide right of the net. Senior Madison Balga would then get the Lions on the board in the 14
th minute with her first goal of the season after collecting the ball after a shot from classmate
Emily Saxon was initially blocked in the box. Albright controlled play for the majority of the first half, but the Eagles would then close out the half strong with a chance in the final minute of the half that was saved by Lions goalkeeper
Alexis Tunney.
Juniata came out flying in the second half with a number of solid chances, including a shot that went off the crossbar in the 50
th minute. Despite the Eagles outshooting the Lions 6-1 in the first 23 minutes of the second half, Albright would be the ones to cash in on a scoring chance when senior
Crissy Terraces scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 69
th minute of the game. Terraces buried a shot in the center of the box after a left wing cross from freshman Daniella LoBue to extend the lead to 2-0. However, Juniata would not go away as they cut the lead in half with a goal in the 78
th minute from Walshaw-Wertz. With the Eagles charging in the final minutes, they created one last chance with a corner kick opportunity in the in the 89
th minute that was cleared out by the Lions to preserve the win.
Albright held a slight 13-11 advantage in shots after out-shooting the Eagles 9-4 in the first half, and a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks. Tunney earned the win after making six saves and allowing one goal in the full 90 minutes. Kriz suffered the tough loss after making four saves in the entire 90 minutes.
The Lions will square off with Penn State Harrisburg tomorrow at 2 p.m. for a berth in the ECAC semifinals next weekend.
