UNCW Women’s Soccer advances to CAA title game with win over Northeastern

TOWSON, MD (UNCW Sports)– Led by redshirt junior midfielder Morgan Nanni, UNCW erased a two-goal deficit in the second half to outlast Northeastern, 3-2, in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Soccer Championship at Towson University’s Tiger Field on Thursday evening.

The win extended the Seahawks’ winning streak to five straight games while moving them to 7-2-0 on the season. Northeastern, making its 10th consecutive CAA Championship appearance, saw its season end with a 5-5-1 mark.

Trailing by a 2-0 margin at the intermission, the Seahawks went to work and netted three unassisted goals to take a 3-2 lead midway through the second half.

Senior forward Audrey Harding started the comeback just over three minutes into the second half, knocking in a rebound of a shot by freshman Madison Henry for her fifth goal of the year.

With 26:30 left in regulation, Nanni evened the score at 2-2 when she blasted a 25-yard shot past sophomore goalkeeper Angeline Friel off an assist from redshirt junior defender Grace Pilcher.

UNCW was awarded a penalty kick in the 70th minute when junior defender Talia Parrous was taken down by Friel in the penalty area. Nanni stepped to the spot and put her attempt into the upper right corner of the goal, giving the Seahawks their first lead of the contest.

Northeastern had several chances to tie the game in the closing 20 minutes, including a shot by Alexis Legowski that hit the post with 2:48 remaining, but the Huskies were unable to get the tying goal.

The Huskies took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute when senior Katarina Nilsson slipped a pass into the box that was knocked in by freshman Gaby Scarlett for her second goal of the season.

Northeastern extended the advantage to 2-0 with 26:07 left in the first half as Chelsea Domond tallied her fourth goal of the season after taking a Scarlett pass and blasting a shot into the upper left corner.

Barefoot, the CAA’s Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Year, made a season-high eight saves in the win for the Seahawks, who were outshot by an 18-16 margin. Friel also tallied eight saves in a losing effort for Northeastern.

The Seahawks advance to the CAA Championship Game on Saturday, Apr. 17, where they will face Elon at 3 p.m. The Phoenix upset top-seeded Hofstra, 1-0, in the first semifinal on Thursday afternoon.