PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - A furious last minute comeback fell just short as the eighth seeded Wilmington University women's soccer team saw its season come to an end with a 2-1 loss at top seeded Holy Family in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at Tiger Field.
The Wildcats (5-12-1 overall) threw the book to the wind after going down 2-0 with 30 minutes remaining, pressing forward the rest of the way to try and keep their season alive. Despite receiving a late goal and having two golden opportunities with under a minute to play, No. 1 Holy Family (10-5-3 overall) held on to advance to the CACC Semifinals.
Holy Family put the Wildcats on their heels early in the contest, scoring the opening goal at the 7:36 mark. Lisa Abramski tallied her seventh goal of the season with a volley over Wildcat goalkeeper Julia Brown to put the top seeded Tigers in front.
The Tigers would hold control the remaining of the first half without allowing the Wildcats a true opportunity to tie the match. Holy Family held a 10-4 advantage in shots and a 4-0 advantage in corners through the first 45 minutes of play.
The offense came alive in the second half, with the help of Brown recording three saves in the opening 14 minutes to preserve the 1-0 lead. But the third save trickled away out of the reach of Brown and the rebound was slammed home by Ursula Coyle for her sixth goal of the season at the 59:04 mark of the match.
Trailing 2-0, head coach Jos Ruggiero flipped the script and moved senior defender Sarah Lindler to the front of the offense to generate speed at the top. It nearly paid off for Ruggiero as Lindler raced onto a through ball, but Tigers' keeper Sienna Smith barely beat Lindler to the ball outside the 18-yard box, denying the scoring chance.
The Wildcats finally found a way to get one by Smith but the goal was waved off after the ball was ruled out on the endline prior to Lindler crossing it over to Shelby Schneeweis.
With a little more than five minutes remaining in the game, the Wildcats cracked the scoreboard with a goal, utilizing a Tigers' miscue on the backline. Freshman Kim Richer challenged Smith who came off her line to clear a ball, but Richer broke through the defense and met Smith at impact. The ball bounced in favor of Richer who was able to slide the ball home into the empty net to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Continuing to press forward, the Wildcats had a pair of opportunities with under a minute to play to tie the match. Off a punt by Brown, senior Jenna Quaranta was in alone on the goalkeeper following a flick at midfield. With the ball unsettled on the grass field, Quaranta saw Smith off her line and attempted a chip over the top, but the ball sailed high and out of bounds.
Richer had another chance with less than 20 seconds to play, traveling down the left side and into the 18-yard box. Her left footed shot was directly at Smith, however, as the freshman goalkeeper was able to keep the ball in front and seal the victory.
The Wildcats outshot the Tigers 7-5 in the second half while also earning more corners, 3-0. Brown recorded eight saves in the loss while the Wildcats made Smith record seven stops for the Tigers in the win.
The playoff loss ends the season for the Wildcats while it also ends the careers of six seniors. Rachel Burley, Chelsea Grace, Jordanne Hoesli-Atkins, Sarah Lindler, Jenna Quaranta, and Monica Weil played their final game as a Wildcat on Tuesday, but leave the program after giving the team its only CACC Tournament Championship title in 2012.