WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley defeated Southern Connecticut in penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals of the Northeast 10 Women's Soccer Championship.
The match ended tied 1-1 after 110 minutes of regulation and overtime, but the Falcons won the penalty shootout 5-3 to book their ticket to the semifinals on Thursday.
They will host Saint Michael's on Thursday at 1:00 pm.
Bentley was successful on all five of its PKs, with
Abi Hennessey delivering the winning shot in the fifth round. Falcons goalkeeper
Holly DiPalo made a big save on Southern's second attempt to give them the advantage.
Bentley went first and took a 1-0 lead from
Evelyn Beers. In the second round
Cami Ayandele converted, followed by DiPalo's save for a 2-1 lead.
Both teams were successful in the third and fourth rounds, with
Sydney DeRoche and
Maddy LePage scoring for Bentley.
That led to Hennessey scoring in the fifth round to clinch the win.
In a frantic start to the match, the teams exchanged goals in the opening 2:21.
Southern took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Frida Norret with a shot from the right wing just 36 seconds into the match.
Bentley responded less than two minutes later on a goal by
Kendra Foley, who headed in a cross inside the six yard box that was sent in by DeRoche.
After that opening exchange however, neither team was able to score for the next 107-plus minutes.
The win was the 14
th of the season for Bentley, which breaks the school record for single season wins.
Bentley won the regular season meeting over Saint Michael's 2-1 at home on October 17. Hennessey and
Annie Vigue were the goal scorers.
