By Rachael Cataldo, Asst. Sports Editor
After the game ended in a scoreless tie, the Susquehanna women’s soccer team was able to advance to the Landmark Conference Championship game with a 3-2 win over the Catholic Cardinals in penalty shots on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Catholic took a 2-0 early lead in penalty kicks, but junior River Hawk Emily Lefkowitz was able to cut the lead in half after scoring on the second attempt.
Junior Emily Sullivan and senior Grayclynn Juckes scored to clinch the team’s advancement.
“The whole time during PKs all I could picture was our entire four years together flashing before my eyes, I didn’t want it to be over,” Juckes said. “I was incredibly proud of our team for what we had accomplished and was so thankful to still be ‘alive’ in the tournament.”
Senior goalie Jennifer Thorsheim had seven saves in the tie versus Catholic.
“When we took the lead, I heard Coach Hoover on the sideline scream ‘Jenny, end this right now,’ which really got my blood pumping,”
Thorsheim said after the game. Catholic had seven shots on goal compared to Susquehanna’s two in the semifinal game. Susquehanna’s last appearance to compete for the Landmark Conference title was in 2009 when the team lost to top ranked Catholic 1-0. The team advanced to the championship game by winning with a penalty kick over Drew that year.
Three days later however, the River Hawks fell to the Scranton Royals 2-0 in the Landmark Conference Championship game in Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Scranton secured an early lead by converting on a corner kick just three minutes into the game for the first score.
The Royals were able to find the net again and advance their lead to 2-0 just 29 minutes into the game, and would be all that Scranton needed for the win
Susquehanna had two shots on goal, while Scranton had six on the day. Thorsheim had four saves in the contest.
“I really could not be prouder of our team throughout this entire season,” Thorsheim said. “I think our team always kept our end goal in mind, which was to make it to the finals. In times where our legs and chests were heavy, we were able to push through by leaving our hearts out on the field.”
Thorsheim also said her team “deserved to be on that field” and they can happily look back on the season as a success, making school history.
“We never gave up on Coach Hoover’s system or each other, which is what made our final season so successful,” Juckes said after the game..
However, the River Hawks’ season is not over yet. They earned one of the at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. Susquehanna (14-4-2) will face Swarthmore (14-3-2) on Saturday, Nov. 11 at William Smith College in Geneva, New York at 1 p.m..
If the River Hawks win, they will face either William Smith (17-1-0) or Lasell (13-5-0) on Sunday to decide which team will advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
This is the first time Susquehanna will appear in the NCAA tournament. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.
The team also had six players recieve All-Landmark Conference honors. Seniors Alyssa Bolger and Mairead Ruane and sophomore Katie Beluch were named to the first team, while seniors Chloe Eisenhuth and Thorsheim and the junior Sulluivan were named to the second team.