THE BASICS 
Lesley University, 2 vs. Maine Maritime Academy, 2 (Lesley wins, 5-4 on penalty kicks)

Location: Bangor, Maine. - John P. Boucher Field

Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024

THE LEAD— In a game where regulation and two overtime periods were not enough, the No.2 seeded Lesley University Lynx and No.3 seeded Maine Maritime Mariners settled their North Atlantic Conference (NAC) quarterfinals matchup in penalty kicks. After a Mayako Brown miss, it was all up to Sacha Porter (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), who buried her shot for the 5-4 win in penalty kicks. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Like all their other matchups, Lesley and Maine Maritime played solid defense early on, as neither side found the back of the net in the opening 30 minutes. However, the Mariners broke the stalemate courtesy of a Hadley Stoddard goal. Stoddard pushed ahead from the top right corner of the goalie box and flipped her shot over Lynx goalie Lauren Lacy (Colorado Springs, Colo.). 
• However, nearly six minutes later, at 36:38, Lesley responded and evened things at one, thanks to Rachel Weinzimer (Woodland Hills, Calif.). After the squad generated a corner kick opportunity, Lily Wright (Haymarket, Va.) looped in her kick that found Weinzmer's head in the back left corner of the net and got her shot past an out of position Mariners goalie, Isa Thesing.
• After Weinzmer's goal, each side had numerous chances to go ahead before the half, but thanks to stellar defense and goaltending, the first half ended tied at one. 
• Unlike the first half, the scoring started slightly over 15 minutes in (61:43) when Brown gave the Mariners a 2-1 advantage. After a Maine Maritime corner kick found Stodardd near the left side of the goalie box, she one-timed her pass over to Brown who was on the left corner of the net and snuck her shot past Lacy. 
• Despite the 2-1 lead, Lesley once again responded quickly at (66:26) when Abby Kalou (Chicago, Ill.) made a hard push toward the ball in the middle of the goalie box and met Thesing at the ball. However, the Mariners' netminder could not corral the ball, and while both Thesing and Kalou were on the ground, Kalou stuck out her foot and pushed ahead for the game-tying goal. 
• From that point on, both sides peppered the other goalie with seven combined shots, but neither could pot the game-winner and were onto overtime.
• In both overtime periods, Lesley's defense was outstanding. The squad did not allow a shot, whereas the Lynx put up four. The Lynx had their best chance for the game-winner in the second overtime period when Kalou headed a free kick that went off the top crossbar. While the ball was on the ground in front of Maine Maritime's net, the Mariners got the ball out of harm's way. 
• As penalty kicks got underway, Lesley women's soccer head coach Paul Vasconcelos made a bold move and swapped in Madison Reed (Burlingame, Calif.) for Lacy, which would ultimately pay off for Lesley. After both sides went back and forth, Reed made a clutch stop when she stopped Brown's attempt with a diving save to the right. 
• After Reed's big-time save, Porter was up for the Lynx, and once she lined up her shot, she rifled home the game-winner past a diving Thesing's right side. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kalou and Weinzimer were the two Lesley goal-scorers on the afternoon. Both goals are their first of the NAC postseason.
• Wright led the squad with an assist on Saturday. Her assist is also the first of the playoffs.
• Lacy had a solid day in net for Lesley as the senior goalie stopped four shots. She has now had four games this year with at least four stops. Meanwhile for Reed, she only needed to make one save in penalty kicks. 
• For the Mariners, Thesing had another solid outing with her nine stops on the afternoon.
• Lesley outshot Maine Maritime by a 22-9 margin and also held the advantage in corner kicks, 5-4.
• The Lynx earned their first postseason win against the Mariners and avenged last year's 1-0 loss in the NAC semifinals. 

UP NEXT

• The Lynx have a quick turnaround as the squad takes on No.1 seeded Husson University in the NAC semifinals tomorrow, Sunday, November 3, at 1 p.m.