CHESTER, Pa. – The Albright College women's soccer team erupted for three goals in a 12-minute span early in the second half before holding off a late push from host Widener University to earn a 3-2 victory in a MAC Commonwealth Play-In game on Monday evening.
The victory marked the Lions' first postseason win since defeating Stevenson University 2-1 in 2021. Albright improves to 9-9-3 overall with the win and moves within one victory of matching the 2021 squad's 10-win season.
First-year forward Megan Chikezie delivered the decisive goal at the 62:49 mark, sneaking a shot from the middle of the box just inside the right post. From there, Olivia Reinhart and the Lions' defense stood tall, limiting the Pride (8-9-3) to just two shots, including one on goal, over the final stretch to preserve the victory.
Widener struck first, taking a 1-0 lead when Isabella Losada finished a pass from Allison Gomez at the 10:59 mark. Albright looked to answer throughout the opening half, with Brylie Jensen, Samantha Rosenberg, Daiveni Fisher, and Abigail Landis each putting a shot on target. However, Widener goalkeeper Lindsay Price turned aside all four attempts. Reinhart recorded three saves in the opening 45 minutes to keep the Lions within striking distance.
The Albright offense came alive early in the second half, beginning with Fisher's team-leading sixth goal of the season at the 50:08 mark. Gabby Verdone worked her way through the defense and down to the end line before delivering a perfect pass into the box, where Fisher redirected the ball inside the right post to even the score at 1-1.
Just over four minutes later, the Lions took their first lead of the contest. Rosenberg sent a corner kick into the box, where Landis rose to head the ball high into the air and into the far-left corner of the net for her first goal of the season at the 54th minute.
The Pride responded at the 61:31 mark when Mia Garofalo found the back of the net to knot the score at 2-2. However, the tie lasted just 78 seconds before Chikezie delivered the eventual game-winner to put Albright back in front for good.
Reinhart finished with five saves in goal, while Price also recorded five stops for Widener. The Lions held an 11-8 advantage in shots and an 8-7 edge in shots on goal, while the Pride led 4-1 in corner kicks.
UP NEXT:
With the victory, the Lions advance to the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals, where they will face top-seeded and nationally seventh-ranked Messiah University on Wednesday, November 4, at 6 p.m. The semifinal matchup will take place at Messiah's Shoemaker Field.
