Nov. 4, 2007

On Sunday afternoon, the Emmanuel Women's Soccer Team defeated Emerson College, 4-1, winning the program's second GNAC Championship and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. After being rained out on Saturday, the conference championship game was moved to Sunday and played on the turf at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville, MA.

The 3rd-seeded Lions (13-4-4) struck first, when Emerson's freshman midfielder Lisa Viccione (Meridian, CT) completed a penalty kick at 24:40. The Saints trailed, 1-0 for the next twelve minutes, before sophomore defender Hillary Mota (Rehoboth, MA) tied the game. Mota netted a long ball from outside the box on the left side at 36:50. Mota was assisted by freshman defender Meghan Long (Smithfield, RI). Both teams played evenly for the remainder of the first half and entered halftime with the score knotted at 1-1. The Lions and the Saints matched each other with both teams taking 5 shots apiece in the opening stanza.

The second half opened with Emmanuel dominating the offense. The Saints scored quickly, just 13 minutes into the half, when senior midfielder Caitlin Egan (Milford, MA) was assisted by freshman forward Amber Di Nucci (Assonet, MA) on a goal that eventually held up as the game-winner. Di Nucci found her own offense just ten minutes later, scoring on a header assisted by Long, and giving Emmanuel a 3-1 advantage. Sophomore forward Stephanie Levesque (Auburn, MA) capped off the Saints' scoring with the unassisted fourth and final goal at 79:30. Junior goalkeeper Laureyn Furtney (Barrington, NH) made 4 saves in net for Emmanuel.

The 4-1 victory gave the Saints the programs' second GNAC title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Three players from Emmanuel were selected to the All-Tournament Team. They included Hillary Mota, Stephanie Levesque, and sophomore midfielder Kate McKenna (Holyoke, MA). Rookie Amber Di Nucci was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

The Saints will play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (11/10) against Tufts University; the game will be played at Hamilton College in New York.