BOXSCORE | CUMULATIVE STATS
HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Freshman Erica Conte (Caledonia-Mumford HS/Caledonia, NY) netted the decisive penalty kick and freshman goalie Hillary Simon (Homer HS/Homer, NY) made two saves during the extra session as Nazareth advanced past Stevens Institute of Technology in penalty kicks Wednesday in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for women's soccer.

The game -- after 90 minutes of regulation play and two 10-minute overtime periods -- officially ended in a 0-0 tie with Nazareth advancing to the E8 Championship game with a 4-3 advantage in penalty kicks. The third-seeded Golden Flyers (11-5-2 overall) will travel to top-seeded Ithaca (15-3) Saturday for the conference title match at 12 p.m. The winner gains an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Nazareth will be shooting for its eighth straight conference title and its eighth NCAA berth in the last 11 seasons. Ithaca defeated Utica, 3-0, in the other semifinal.

"We're excited," said Nazareth Coach Gail Mann. "It's been a while since we advanced in penalty kicks."

They've had plenty of opportunities. Four years in a row (2002 through 2005), the E8 title match between Nazareth and Ithaca was ultimately decided in penalty kicks. Nazareth advanced in 2002, Ithaca in the next three seasons.

Against Stevens, Nazareth avenged a regular-season defeat to the Ducks by getting penalty kick goals from Caroline Parsons (Glens Falls HS/Glens Falls, NY), Rachel Cushman (Irondequoit HS/Rochester, NY) and Taryn Bilodeau (McGraw HS/McGraw, NY) before Conte sealed the deal on a low shot that settled in the back of the net to to the right of Stevens goalie Jenn Pontier.

Stevens got penalty kick goals from Salme Cook, Katelyn Stewart and Kara Pepe, but Simon made diving saves on attempts by Audra Clark and Catherine Rotsides.

Stevens had a 20-14 advantage in shots during the game, but Simon was credited with 10 saves to record her sixth shutout of the season. Nazareth's defense, featuring juniors Carly Schurman (C.W. Baker HS/Baldwinsville, NY) and Emily Zurschmit  (Camden HS/Camden, NY) plus freshmen Kara Eaker (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake HS/Scotia, NY)  and Meghan Finn (Homer HS/Cortland, NY), was resilient in getting its fourth shutout in the last seven games.

Meghan Finn made a key defensive play in the first overtime to keep the game scoreless as she knocked away a game-winning attempt by Cook after Simon was beaten following a free kick. Nazareth's best scoring chances came early in the game when Kelly Finn (Homer HS/Cortland, NY) twice broke free past the Stevens defense, but was turned away both times by Pontier.

Penalty Kick Results
Stevens		Nazareth
Salme Cook (goal)	1-0	Julie Birbilis (saved by Jenn Pontier)
Audra Clark (saved by Hillary Simon)	1-1	Caroline Parsons (goal)
Katelyn Stewart (goal)	2-2	Rachel Cushman (goal)
Catherine Rotsides (saved by Hillary Simon)	2-3	Taryn Bilodeau (goal)
Kara Pepe (goal)	3-4	Erica Conte (goal)