READING, Pa. – Behind two first half goals, the Albright Lions women's soccer team defeated Penn State Harrisburg 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Shirk Stadium in the ECAC Championship quarterfinals.
With the win, the Lions improve to 12-8-1 on the season and will advance to play Springfield College next weekend in the ECAC Championship semifinals at a site to be determined. Meanwhile, the Lady Lions conclude their season at 12-9 after making their first ECAC Championship appearance in program history.
Both offenses started slow with the Lions registering the first shot in the contest in the 8
th minute, but Albright dominated possession in the early part of the half. Junior
Erica Bross nearly got the Lions on the board with a header close in the box that was saved by Lady Lions goalkeeper Kayla Arnold. Freshman Daniella LoBue would break the scoreless tie in the 21
st minute on her second goal of the season to give the Lions the early 1-0 lead. The goal was set up off a corner kick from senior
Morgan Valera that went into the box and bounced off a pack of players right to LoBue, who poked it past Arnold. Albright continued to dominate in the Lady Lions zone with multiple chances and corner kick opportunities as the first half went along. The Lions then took advantage off another corner kick from Valera in the 37
th minute when sophomore
Bree Bowles scored the first goal of her season on a header. Albright outshot the Lady Lions 10-1 in the first half.
Penn State Harrisburg created their first best scoring chance in the contest in the 49
th minute when leading goal scorer, Kayla Arnold, created separation and ripped a shot that was saved by Lions goalkeeper
Alexis Tunney. LoBue nearly extended the Lions lead on two separate occasions in the 54
th and 56
th minutes of the game on shots that just went wide of the net. Tunney then had to make a sliding stop minutes later before Stark could get a shot off after she broke free through the Lions defenders. The Lady Lions had one last good scoring chance in the 71
st minute when Kyile Courtney sent a shot just high over the crossbar. Albright held the Lady Lions without a shot for the final 18 minutes of the game to advance to their first ECAC Championship semifinals.
Albright held a 13-3 shot advantage for the game after just outshooting the Lady Lions 3-2 in the second half. The Lions also held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks as well.
Tunney earned her seventh shutout of the season after making just one save in the full 90 minutes of play. Arnold suffered the loss after making five saves and allowing two goals in the entire 90 minutes.
Check out www.albrightathletics.com for more information on where the ECAC Semifinals will be hosted.
