PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - Indigo Kirk sent the fourth-seeded Wilmington University women's soccer team into the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship with a goal in the 95th minute, taking down 10th ranked and top-seeded Jefferson on their home field on Tuesday afternoon.
With the win, the Wildcats (11-2-6) advance to the CACC Tournament Championship game on Saturday on the campus of Post University. It is their first CACC Tournament Championship appearance since 2021 and just their fourth all-time. They are looking to win their second ever CACC Tournament, claiming their one and only in 2012, also on Post's campus. They will play No. 2 Caldwell who defeated No. 3 Chestnut Hill, 3-0, in Tuesday's other Semifinal.
The Wildcats needed to work from behind on a cold and blustery Tuesday afternoon on Ravenhill Field as Jefferson opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Mia Ferrera gave the home team a 1-0 lead with her second goal of the year. The lead held at halftime as well.
The Rams came out to start the second half looking to put the game away, but Arianna Myers made a couple stops until the offense got going. Eboni Bradshaw had two shots that were saved and Cayley Winters put one on frame that was stopped in the 76th minute.
The Wildcats continue to pressure and got a lucky bounce to snap the Rams' 630-minute scoreless streak. Starting out of the back, Stef Barrios found Bradshaw atop the formation. Sophia Filipowski made an overlapping run into the corner of the box on the right side. She crossed the ball and a Ram defender dove at the ball, deflecting it into the air and into the back of the net on the far post in with 8:33 to play.
Ferrara had a free kick with 15 seconds to play, but her attempt was stopped by Myers and the game went into overtime.
The Wildcats had a corner kick opportunity early in overtime, but then struck on their only other scoring chance.
Working out of their own end with a six-yarder. Kirk found Evelyn Payne in the middle of the field, and she switched sides to the right wing. Eboni Bradshaw played Anneli Donath into the right corner, and she one-timed a cross to the middle of the box. The cross got all the way through to Kirk on the back post and she was able to sneak it over the goalkeeper and under the crossbar for the game-winning goal with 5:13 remaining in the first overtime.
The Rams held a 15-game unbeaten streak going into today's game, including an eight-game winning streak since tying the Wildcats, 0-0, on September 30. They are ranked No. 1 in last week's NCAA East Regional Poll.
Saturday's Championship will be held in Waterbury, Connecticut, on the campus of Post University. The women's championship will kick-off first, with a start of 12:00 p.m. at LaMoy Field.