PHOTO CREDIT: Dylan VonderHaar '26

NASHUA, N.H. – After 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods failed to produce a victor and a 1-1 draw, #9 Elms College (7-9-2) advanced past #8 Saint Joseph's College (6-6-6) in a penalty-kick shootout at Joanne Merrill Field on the campus of Rivier University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer tournament play-in on Friday evening.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With the result, the Blazers move on to the quarterfinal round of the GNAC Tournament and will play at top-seeded Johnson & Wales University on Sunday, kick-off TBD.

For the Monks, the loss signals the end of the 2023 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After a scoreless first half both teams came out of the break with a sense of urgency and several scoring chances were the result, perhaps none better than a shot taken just outside the box by SJC senior Aaliyah WilsonFalcone (Winthrop, Maine) in the 49th minute. Finding a seam in the Elms defense, WilsonFalcone drilled a shot to the top left corner that Blazers senior keeper Angela Picheo (Wood-Ridge, N.H.) got a piece of before the ball clanged off the crossbar and back into her hands.

Plenty of back-and-forth play followed before the conference counterparts netted a goal apiece during a 58-second window. Freshman Emily Basua (Oxnard, Calif.) broke the scoreless tie with a nifty deflection off a Kelly Malheiro (Centereach, N.Y.) right-to-left pass in the box at the 72:20 mark. Less than a minute later, WilsonFalcone netted the equalizer with a shot taken near the goalmouth with a double assist being credited to classmates Tatum Hancock (Damariscotta, Maine) and Darcy Wright (Salem, N.H.), who set up the play with a perfectly placed ball in the box.

Momentum seemed to be in the Monks' favor during the following 10-minute segment, as the hosts earned a pair of corner kick attempts and registered three shots, including a pair on goal, but the Elms defense withstood the offensive barrage.

During the two OT frames the Blazers held a 6-1 shots advantage as SJC senior netminder Carly Downey (Yarmouth, Maine) turned away a pair of shots to preserve the 1-1 score and force PK's.

In the penalty kick shootout, the teams stood at a 3-3 tie through five attempts per side to force a golden goal scenario. Audri Cope (Ludlow, Mass.) and Lindsey Jeffrey (Lincoln, R.I.) hit pay dirt for the Blazers while Hancock and sophomore Lelia Weir (Bar Harbor, Maine) connected for the Royal Blue to keep the string going. On the eighth attempt for both teams, junior Caroline Wilcox (Pomfret Center, Conn.) found the back of the net for Elms and SJC sophomore Kate Russell (Kennebunk, Maine) ricocheted a shot off Picheo's hands and the crossbar.

TEAM STATS:

The teams posted nearly identical stats across the board, as Elms held an 18-17 edge in shots and a 5-3 lead in corner kicks while both sides steered nine shots on goal.

THE KEEPERS:

Downey and Picheo made eight saves apiece in the hotly contested play-in match.

SENIOR SENDOFF:

The season-ending setback closes out the collegiate soccer careers of the Monks' six seniors: Tatum Hancock, Randi Robinson (Hollis, Maine), Claudia Janelle (Biddeford, Maine), Aaliyah WilsonFalcone, Darcy Wright, and Carly Downey. With this senior class on the pitch, the Monks have posted a 28-23-7 (.483) record overall with a 26-10-6 (.619) mark in conference play and a pair of GNAC Tournament semifinal appearances.

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