SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton's Emily Tantala scored with 13 seconds left, handing the Drew University women's soccer team a 1-0 setback in a nailbiter of a Landmark Conference final at warm and cloudy Weiss Field Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the top-seeded Royals (16-2-1) receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championships while claiming their third-straight Landmark title.
Sophomore
Amina Cirkiel made six saves while playing the second half in goal for the Rangers (11-6-2), who were making their first appearance in the Landmark final since 2013.
Neither side had many scoring opportunities in the opening half, when the Royals held a 5-3 edge in shots. Senior
Anthi Panayides faced just one shot on goal for the Rangers, but she made an impressive diving stop in the 11th minute.
Sophomore
Alexa Krause had the best chance to score for Drew. In the 26th minute, she took a centering pass from classmate
Kat Kugler on a breakaway and had space to shoot from the left side of the box. But her left-footed blast was knocked down by Scranton goalie Nicole Olson.
Scranton turned up the pressure in the second half, when it racked up a 12-0 shot advantage. However, Cirkiel was up to the task and stood tall down the stretch. The Royals took all six of their second-half shots on goal over the final 28 minutes, when they also earned nine corner kicks, but Cirkiel turned in numerous outstanding stops. In particular, she snuffed out a redirected shot in front following a corner in the 89th minute, diving to her right while coming up with the ball cleanly.
With around 45 seconds left, the Rangers cleared a pass inside the 18, booting it out beyond midfield. The Royals pushed the ball down the field and Teresa Hegarty possessed it in the right side of the box. She withstood pressure from several defenders, then sent a short pass to Tantala, who lofted a perfect shot from the right elbow that just floated into the upper-left corner of the net.
The Rangers close out the season with their highest victory total (11) and winning percentage (.643) since 2013.
