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Vasapolli and a Pair of Defensive Saves Spark Wildcats to 4-0 CACC Women’s Soccer Semifinal Victory over Georgian Court
WSoc: #1 Wilmington 4 - #4 Georgian Court 0 - CACC Semifinals
Victoria Vasapolli scored two goals and the Wilmington University defense saved two off the goal line early to lead the women’s soccer team back to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship for the first time since 2004, defeating fourth seed Georgian Court, 4-0, on Friday afternoon at Municipal Stadium.
The Wildcat (12-6-2) defense needed to clear a pair of balls off the goal line in the first five minutes of the match, keeping the Lions (11-8-1) off the scoreboard and swinging the momentum in favor of the top seeded Wildcats for the rest of the first half.
First, senior defender Alli Williams volleyed a ball away only two minutes into the match before classmate Vikki Zipf kept the game scoreless at the 10 minute mark, heading the ball away as the Lions got by Wildcat goalkeeper Amanda Walters.
The defensive effort carried over into the rest of the squad, as the midfield and attack began to click for the rest of the first half. Shortly after the defensive save by Zipf, the ball ended on the foot of Chelsea Grace outside the 18-yard box. Grace cut back towards the middle of the field and put a shot on goal to the near post, beating Lion keeper Casey O’Connor low for the 1-0 lead.
Vasapolli gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead right before the half as Ashley Kroll sent a ball over the top leading Vasapolli to a breakaway in the 41st minute. Vasapolli raced by her defender and beat a drawn out O’Connor for her seventh goal of the season.
After the halftime break, Vasapolli was at it again scoring her second goal of the match 4:27 into the second stanza. Jordanne Hoesli-Atkins sent a ball into Vasapolli at the top of the box. She took on three defenders atop the 18-yard box, putting the ball on her left foot and beating the goalie to her left side for her eighth goal of the season and a 3-0 lead in the semifinal.
Holding a 3-0 lead, the Wildcats kept the pressure on through the second half, outshooting the Lions, 9-4, in the second 45 minutes.
Jenna Quaranta capped the scoring in the semifinal with a goal at the buzzer, narrowly beating the scoreboard as the ball crossed the line prior to the horn sounding off. With the ball at the top left corner of the penalty box, Quaranta cut back to her right and to the middle of the field, beating two defenders and putting a sliding strike on frame and into the corner of the goal. The goal with one second left was her seventh of the season.
Georgian Court outshot the Wildcats, 11-9, in the first half, but the Wildcats responded with nine shots in the second half to outshoot the Lions, 18-15, for the match.
On top of the two defensive saves by the Wildcat defense, Walters tallied 10 more stops to record her sixth shutout of the season.
In the other CACC Semifinal, No. 2 Philadelphia defeated No. 3 Caldwell, 2-1, at Municipal Stadium to advance to the CACC Championship. The Wildcats and the Rams will square off for the CACC Tournament Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament on Sunday at 11 a.m. at LaMoy Field at Post University.
Earlier in the season, Philadelphia defeated Wilmington, 3-0, to give the Wildcats their lone conference loss of the season.
