Charlotte, N.C. - (Nov. 9, 2007) - As evenly as two teams could be, not even five penalty kicks were enough to decide the Atlantic 10 semifinal between Fordham and Dayton. In the first extra kick,
Kim Boulos scored for Fordham, while Allie Foust's shot for Dayton went right, giving Fordham a 4-3 victory in penalty kicks and their second straight berth in the Atlantic 10 Championship. With the win, Fordham will face top-seeded Charlotte for the Atlantic 10 Championship and an automatic NCAA berth on Sunday at 1:00 PM at Transamerica Field.
The match didn't start out right for the Rams, as Dayton grabbed the early 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Kristen Persichini hit the crossbar with a shot, which went up in the air, and hit a Fordham defender. Persichini then recovered the rebound and headed it in from two yards out for her fourth goal of the season.
The game stayed that way until the 74:18 mark of the second half, where Fordham got new life. Coming down on a 3-on-2 break,
Katie Sanchez's shot was saved by Dayton's Niki Reed, but
Courtney Fedge pounced on the rebound, and scored her second goal of the season for Fordham.
Much like their regular season match-up, the game ended in a 1-1 tie following a pair of ten minutes overtimes period, forcing the game into penalty kicks.
Fordham opened the kicks with
Catherine Huvane, who's shot was slowed by Reed, but the ball trickled over the line for a goal. Dayton responded with a goal by Courtney Sirmans to knot it at one.
Liane Schoenstein then converted for Fordham, followed by Mandi Back making it 2-2. Reed then foiled
Katie McDermott, while Cara Cornacchia beat
Elisabeth Roald for a 3-2 Dayton lead.
Fordham thought they tied it back up, but
Erica Frizzell's shot hit the crossbar and bounced out of the net, leaving Fordham no more room for error, needing a save by Roald. Roald then came up big, stopping Emily Miller to the right side, keeping the Rams' hopes alive.
Fordham's last shooter to tie the match was captain
Laura Muzzatti, who punched it into the left side of the net, tying the penalty kicks at three. Dayton then called upon their goalkeeper, Niki Reed, as their final shooter. Reed wound up and hit the left post and bounced out, forcing extra kicks.
Fordham then called upon
Kim Boulos, who scored to the left side, giving Fordham a 4-3 lead. Dayton went with Allie Foust as the next shooter, but she pushed the shot to the right, giving Fordham the 4-3 win in penalty kicks.
For the game,
Elisabeth Roald made six saves in net, while Niki Reed had seven for Dayton.
The Rams now advance to their second straight Atlantic 10 Championship game on Sunday, November 11th, at 1:00 PM, as they face top-seeded Charlotte.
