Women's Soccer | 11/8/2014 3:53:00 PM

Box | Updated stats
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Nazareth and Ithaca met for the 10th time in the finals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for women's soccer Saturday with an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line. And for the sixth time in that stretch, there were two winners. The Golden Flyers and the Bombers played to a 0-0 tie and were declared E8 co-champions. Nazareth then gained the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a 4-3 advantage in the post-game penalty kick session.

Nazareth gained its ninth NCAA berth and first since 2008. Nazareth's record is now 14-3-3 overall. Ithaca is 14-3-1. Pairings for the NCAA Division III Tournament will be announced Monday at 1 p.m.

"It feels awesome to be back in the NCAAs," said Nazareth Coach Gail Mann. "This team really deserves it. I'm so proud of them."

After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer -- 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime -- the teams were declared co-champions, just like 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2012. In the penalty kick session, junior Dana Donnelly scored the decisive goal for the Golden Flyers to send the players and fans into a spirited frenzy. Courtney Malia, Sarah Conroy and Michaela Soules had scored earlier in the session for Nazareth. Nazareth keeper Allison Dobles, meanwhile, made two key saves during the session to stymie the Bombers, who got goals from Kelsey King, Taylor Baranowsky and Kristyn Alonzo.

The game itself was evenly played. Nazareth had a 17-14 edge in shots, including a 7-2 edge in the two overtimes. Ithaca had seven corner kicks to six for Nazareth. Dobles made 10 saves during the game, while Ithaca's Beth Coppolecchia made eight. It was Nazareth's 10th shutout of the season, including seven for Dobles. Senior Tyler Carr was named the game's MVP.

Soules generated six of Nazareth's shots and the best scoring chances for the Golden Flyers. She had a blast from the top of the 18-yard box midway through the second half that was saved by Coppolecchia. She also had the best opportunity in overtime on a shot from the left side of the goal that was saved again by Coppolecchia with about nine minutes left. King had four of Ithaca's shots, including one with 11 minutes to go in the first half that hit the crossbar.

"I thought it was even overall, but I think we had the better of it in overtime," said Mann. "It's a great day for Nazareth soccer."
 

PENALTY KICK RESULTS
Ithaca	Score	Nazareth
Kelsey King - goal	1-1	Courtney Malia - goal
Jess Demczar - save by Allison Dobles	1-2	Sarah Conroy - goal
Taylor Baranowsky - goal	2-2	Kaitlyn Sowyrda - save by Beth Coppolecchia
Kristyn Alonzo - goal	3-3	Michaela Soules - goal
Jessie Warren - save by Allison Dobles	3-4	Dana Donnelly - goal