Women’s Soccer Edged by Top-Seeded Gordon in CCC Semifinals

WENHAM, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene women's soccer team was ousted from the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament with a 3-2 loss at top-seeded Gordon Thursday afternoon. The fourth-seeded Lions finish the 2012 campaign with a 9-8-3 record while the Fighting Scots improve to 17-2 and advance to the CCC Finals.

The hosts grabbed a 1-0 edge in the 12th minute as Caitlin Nedde tallied her 20th goal of the season. Nedde finished a feed from Jane Dietrich and Taylor McSherry.

Gordon held onto the one-goal advantage at the halftime break despite Eastern Nazarene owning a 5-4 edge in shots through 45 minutes of action.

The Lions knotted the score at 1-1 in the 61st minute. Sophomore Jules Speno (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) buried her 11th marker of the year. Freshman Justine Buchanan (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) collected a loose ball on the right wing before whipping a cross into the box. Speno lunged to poke the ball past the Fighting Scots' goalkeeper to level the contest.

Eastern Nazarene claimed a 2-1 lead in the 65th minute as Maleesa Santos (Colonie, N.Y.) curled a low shot into the lower left corner of the cage for her first score of the fall.

The Lions pinned the ball in their offensive end for most of the second period. The Fighting Scots were able to notch a pair of goals against the run of play to reestablish a one-goal gap.

Gordon tied the match at 2-2 in the 68th minute on McSherry's 10th goal of the year. Nedde fired a long-ranged shot on frame which Lions' goalkeeper Kristen Farley (Westminster, Mass.) was able to block but McSherry was in position to slot the rebound into the open net.

Nedde restored the Fighting Scots' one-goal margin in the 82nd minute. Kendra Woudenberg lofted a cross into the penalty area from the left flank and Nedde headed the ball into the back of the cage to pick up her 21st tally.

Both squads registered nine shots in the second stanza as Eastern Nazarene finished the contest owning a 14-13 edge. The Lions earned eight corner kicks in the match, including six in the second half.

Farley stopped three shots on the day in goal for the visitors while Kari Christensen made five saves between the pipes for the home side.