ANNVILLE, Pa. - #14 Lebanon Valley erased a 2-1 deficit with two goals in the final 2:16, capped by
Maddie Fox's stunning winner with 17 seconds left, to beat Stevenson 3-2 and clinch a Commonwealth Conference tournament berth.
In a virtual carbon copy of last year's CC quarterfinal match-up that also saw the Dutchmen (14-1, 5-0 CC) erase a 2-1 deficit in the final minutes, the Mustangs (10-7, 2-3 CC) received a pair of first-half goals by Rosemarie Neiva to take a quick lead before LVC swung the momentum back in the second half.
Kristen Garman had a hand in all three goals, scoring LVC's first in the 45th minute then assisting
Brittany Fleisher's equalizer at 67:44 and Fox's winner. LVC outshot Stevenson 19-8, including 10-3 in the second half, and led 15-5 on penalty corners.
Neiva put SU on the board early when she got behind the defense and Caitlin Dempsey fed a perfect through ball to her, and Neiva scored again in the 27th minute, falling and sliding a shot while laying down past
Kendra Moll for the 2-0 lead.
LVC pressured the entire second half and finally got something for their effort in the 45th minute. Off a penalty corner,
Morgan Vasiliu put a hard-hit ball to the near post for Garman, who finished for her fourth goal of the season. Stevenson tightened its defense after that and held the Dutchmen out of the circle, forcing LVC to call timeout with 3:27 to go.
Out of the stoppage, the Dutchmen immediately drew a penalty corner and Garman set up Fleisher for an easy touch in front to level it 2-2. Not content to play for overtime, Stevenson ran downfield and forced Moll to make a save off Dempsey, but LVC went right back and created a chance of their own. With less than 20 seconds to go, Garman put a ball in front of goal that Fox picked out of traffic, and the freshman slotted it home to the far post with 17 ticks left for the win.
Both goalkeepers put on shows, with
Kendra Moll (14-1) making three saves and a few critical clearances to pick up the win, while SU goalkeeper Gabriella Brooks had a fine game with nine saves in the losing effort.
LVC will head to Alvernia Saturday, and play its regular-season finale Oct. 28 at home against Arcadia.
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