WESTMINSTER, Md.- After a 1-1 scoreline held through 110 minutes, penalty-shootout heroics decided the winner of Tuesday's Centennial Conference Tournament First Round contest, as a pair of
Lucy Fleming stops guided the Diplomats past McDaniel in a shootout they won, 4-2.
Emily Cook recorded F&M's goal in the 39th minute to draw even with the Green Terror, while
Kyra Magerko provided the assist. Fleming made three stops in normal play.
F&M pressed for a goal from the onset, launching a ball from the kickoff that nearly caught the Green Terror goalkeeper off guard, but the ball just sailed over the crossbar on the bounce.
Katherine Finnerty then forced a diving stop in the sixth minute.
It was McDaniel that broke through first, though, as the Green Terror pressed high and dispossessed F&M from a throw in in the defensive third. They then played a square pass across the face of goal that was converted first time into the bottom right corner from ten yards away.
F&M immediately looked to level the scoreline in the minutes that followed, registering nine shots in the next 20 minutes. One of the best chances saw Finnerty play a ball behind the defense to Magerko, but her shot just missed the far post from six yards away. Cook broke through just minutes later on a sequence started by Magerko. She won a goal kick in the midfield and drove into space down the right sideline. She then played a cross to Cook in the middle of the box who headed her shot into the top-left corner from near the penalty spot.
By the end of the first half, F&M held a 12-4 shot advantage.
F&M kept the edge in shot creation in the second half by an 8-3 margin, but neither side found a breakthrough.
Emerson McDonald forced a lunging save in the 60th minute from an edge-of-box shot that took a deflection on its way to the keeper, while
Eve Rebora had an edge-of-box chance heading for the bottom-right corner blocked by a defender at the six-yard box in the 77th minute.
The first overtime period saw two looks at goal from the hosts including one routine Fleming save on a shot from outside the box, while a
Grace Craig cross into the box was met by an
Ellison Errington header, but the keeper reached the ball before it went into the top-left corner. McDaniel nearly broke through on a headed cross into the box in the second overtime period, but the chance sailed narrowly right of the net.
McDaniel got the first crack at goal in the penalty shootout. Fleming dived low and to her left to save the first effort.
Alex Jones was the first Diplomat to step up to the spot, and she converted by going right down the middle. Fleming gave her team the chance to go two goals up went she saved an aerial shot to her left, getting a hand to it to send the ball over the bar.
Meg Balerna followed the save by sending the McDaniel keeper the wrong way, going to the keeper's right. McDaniel converted their third chance, while
Amanda Nemeth gave F&M the first chance at clinching the shootout by going up and over the keeper down the middle of the goal. McDaniel stayed alive by converting their fourth attempt, giving
Liz King the chance to send F&M into the semifinals. She went to the keeper's right while the keeper went left to confirm the advancement.
The victory avenges losses in penalties to the Green Terror in the 2022 First Round and 2021 Centennial Conference Championship.
The Diplomats will return to action in the tournament's semifinal round on Friday, November 6, with the opponent to be determined after today's first round match between Gettysburg and Dickinson.
