Steve Finkernagel

The Lady Colonels suffered a heartbreaking 1-1 (3-2 PK's) loss to King's on Tuesday

WILKES UPENDED IN PENALTY KICKS TO KING’S IN FREEDOM SEMIFINAL

11/5/2013 6:29:00 PM

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WILKES UPENDED IN PENALTY KICKS TO KING'S IN FREEDOM SEMIFINAL

EDWARDSVILLE, PA – For a second straight year the Lady Colonels suffered a heartbreaking penalty kick shootout loss in the Freedom Conference Semifinals. After 110 minutes of game action Wilkes and King's headed to a PK shootout where King's came out victorious 3-2. Wilkes regular season record ends at 9-7-4 while King's goes to 9-7-2.

Wilkes came out of the gates fast and within the first 25 minutes of game action they generated seven shots and four corner kicks but were unable to sneak one past Jessica Natale. At the 26:51 mark King's had their first opportunity to score and capitalized on it when Ivy Nulton took a feed from Erin Laird beat a Wilkes defender and shot one to the far left corner that found the side netting, putting King's up 1-0. The Lady Colonels regained momentum pushed for another goal before half but to no avail. The Lady Colonels outshot the Lady Monarchs 9-1 and 5-0 in corner kick attempts.

The second half started out much the same with Wilkes generating numerous scoring opportunities but not being able to connect on the final pass or shot. As the game lingered on and the seconds continued to slowly click off the clock, the Lady Colonels still believed they could tie the game at one. Dianna Connor (Effort, PA/Pleasant Valley) had a great opportunity with just less than six minutes left in regulation to tie the score but her shot from just outside the six-yard box went wide of the net. Down to their last kick the Lady Colonels showed their resiliency as they tied the game with two seconds to go. Ashley Graham (New Hampton, NY/Minisink Valley) sent a cross in from the right side that Connor one-time half volleyed from twelve yards out over Natale's outstretched hands, sending the Lady Colonels into a frenzy on the field. After the officials checked to make sure the ball had crossed the line before the horn sounded the center circle was pointed to and the game was locked at 1-1. The teams were headed to their second consecutive sudden death overtime match against each other.

In the first overtime Wilkes best chance came with under five seconds to go when Grace Fazzi (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Coughlin) took a shot from inside the 18, that was destined for the back of the net; however, King's goalkeeper Natale thought differently and snagged the ball with a diving save to her right. Nulton had King's best chance when her cross from the right hand side clanged off the crossbar and out of harms way for the Lady Colonels.

The second overtime was no different than the first as Wilkes continued to generate scoring chances and shooting opportunities, but just like the previous three periods they were unable to get the ball across the goal line. In the 107^th minute Senior Katie Cocchi (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsipany Hills) took a shot that was heading into a wide open net, when all of a sudden the Lady Monarchs center back Sarah Borajkiewicz cleared the ball up field and off the line. For all 110 minutes the Lady Colonels outshot the Lady Monarchs 28-4 and 10-0 in corners.

In the penalty kick shootout Wilkes took the first shot and Haley Adam (Brookeville, MD/Sherwood) buried her attempt high into the top right, to give the Lady Colonels a 1-0 advantage. Michelle Spataro evened the kicks at 1-1 when she scored the Lady Monarchs first attempt. Grace Fazzi (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Coughlin) clanged her attempt off of the left post with Wilkes second shot and Brydie Gillespie rang one off the crossbar for King's second shot. Wilkes third shooter Ashley Graham (New Hampton, NY/Minisink Valley) shot one to the left that was pawed away by Natale, and King's third shot from Sarah Borajkiewicz was placed into the lower right corner putting the Lady Monarchs up 2-1. Wilkes fourth kicker Courtney Krasnomowitz (Hamburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) pushed her shot wide of the net. With a chance to win the game for the Lady Monarchs, Wilkes goalkeeper Kristy Colangelo (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) stoned Alexandra Garrett giving the Lady Colonels another chance. Wilkes fifth kicker Jess Benjamin (Canandensis, PA/Pocono Mountain East) calmly and coolly tucked home her attempt to tie the shootout at 2-2. King's final kicker Raquel Molina stepped up to the spot and struck a shot right footed into the side netting, sending the Lady Monarchs into pandemonium as they defeated the Lady Colonels advancing on to their first Freedom Conference Championship match.

King's will play the winner of FDU-Florham and Misericordia on Saturday for the Freedom Conference Championship. Wilkes will await a potential ECAC Championship berth that will be announced next Monday.

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