ANNVILLE, Pa. - Arcadia scored 1:30 into overtime after
Lauren Brumbach's late equalizer forced extra time, and the Knights upset #15 Lebanon Valley 2-1 in the regular season finale.
In a winner-take-all game to determine homefield advantage throughout the Commonwealth Conference Tournament, Arcadia (13-5, 6-1 CC) clinched the bracket's #1 seed for the first time with Katrina Dull's winner early in the first overtime. LVC drops to the third seed with the loss, and will visit Alvernia Nov. 5 for a semifinal at a time to be announced, with Arcadia hosting fourth-seeded Messiah.
A tight defensive battled remained scoreless past the hour mark despite LVC holding a decided advantage offensively in the second half, outshooting Arcadia 12-2 and 13-7 for the game with corners an even 10-10.
Arcadia had two good scoring opportunities in the first half, with
Kendra Moll making a pad save on Rachel Longenecker's volley in the 25th minute before denying her again with a kick save off a breakaway in the 33rd minute.
LVC offense became much more active in the second half, with
Maddie Fox generating a fantastic chance early in the half off a midfield dispossession before
Brittany Fleisher's apparent goal from Fox was waved off in the 48th minute. A defensive save by Dull just before the hour denied Fox, and Fleisher's dribble into the circle was denied moments later by Brittany Hodson.
Longenecker put the visitors on the board with a flukey goal, deflecting Molly Goldstein's long cross up and over a helpless Moll at 62:25. It didn't take long for the Dutchmen to find the cage, with
Morgan Vasiliu corralling a wayward penalty corner injection and pushing it forward to Brumbach, who finished for the equalizer at 65:23. LVC had a final chance to win it with a penalty corner at the buzzer, but Fleisher was denied at the post.
In overtime, Arcadia quickly drew a corner, and Dull injected and then tipped in Taylor Dalisera's shot 1:30 in to win it. Moll had three saves for LVC; Hodson made eight stops.