RINDGE, N.H. – Champions! Bentley women's soccer won the Northeast 10 title with a 2-1 victory over the #1 seed and #5 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce on Sunday.
It's the second NE10 championship in program history and first since 1998. The Falcons were the #2 seed and ranked #16 nationally this week.
An already historic season for the Falcons that has seen a program record for wins (now at 15) and their first ever top-five national ranking, now includes the NE10 championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
For head coach
Tim Mason, he leads the Falcons to the conference championship in his first season.
Sophomore midfielder
Taylor Walwyn was named the Most Outstanding Player. Walwyn, along with
McKay Pratt and
Olivia Matthews were Bentley players named to the All-Tournament team.
Bentley fell behind 1-0 after Franklin Pierce's Kaitlyn Bautista scored with just 34 seconds left in the half.
But the team regrouped at halftime, and just 2:44 into the second half, Pratt tied the game with her third goal of the year.
Matthews gained possession in midfield and had space to run towards the penalty area, where she dropped a pass off to McKay. With space to shoot, McKay took one dribble and ripped a shot into the top left corner for the goal.
Then in the 65
th minute,
Cami Ayandele scored her second goal of the postseason and sixth of the year. The goal was set up with a cross in from the right wing by
Rachael Abbott. The ball took a deflection in front of the goal and Ayandele pounced on the loose ball to give Bentley a 2-1 lead.
The final 25-plus minutes saw the Falcons tighten up defensively to protect the lead.
The final scoring chance Franklin Pierce had was in the 88
th minute with a cross that was sent in towards goal but it was cleared away by center back
Evelyn Beers.
The final whistle sounded not long after, setting off a massive celebration as the Falcons lifted the NE10 championship trophy.
With an auto bid to the NCAA Tournament secured, Bentley will find out who and where they will play next on Monday at 7:00 pm with the NCAA Selection Show.
