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| Anna Hartig (left) and Erica White react after taking a 2-1 advantage over Kenyon on Wednesday. |
WOOSTER, Ohio – Last year in the semifinal of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, The College of Wooster women's soccer team held a 3-1 lead as the fourth seed over top-seeded Kenyon College with just over nine minutes remaining.
Kenyon would score two goals to tie it and later win in penalty kicks.
This year, Wooster got revenge and did so in almost the same fashion as Kenyon did a year before.
The Scots erased a 1-0 deficit with under seven minutes remaining and scored again before the end of regulation to defeat the Ladies 2-1 and advance to the NCAC Tournament Championship game.
Wooster cranked up the offensive intensity late and in the 84th minute found the equalizer off the foot of senior Erica White. Krenare Rokoci sent the ball toward the net as White intercepted it and fired a shot at net to score.
With 1:21 remaining in regulation, White did it again. Kelsey Hall put the ball in play with the corner kick, and White's initial shot was saved by a Kenyon defender. However, she rebounded her own shot and the second shot did the trick as she put the Scots up for good on a rainy, Halloween night.
Her goals kept the Scots' season alive, and White now stands alone in the school record books for goals scored in a single season. Her 17 surpassed Cathie Docherty who held the record since 1987.
Aside from the final 10 minutes, Kenyon was in control of this one. Fallon Raviol scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 36th minute after capitalizing on a misplay and scoring from the center of the box.
Both teams took six shots in the first half, but Wooster ended up outshooting the Ladies 16-8. Wooster took five corner kicks as well, four of which came in the second half.
Maddy Ireton started in net and made one save in the first half. Molly Hutter played the second half and made two saves to collect her 10th win of the season.
The game was originally scheduled to be played at 2 p.m. on Carl Dale Field, but weather conditions forced the game to be pushed to 6 p.m. and to be moved to John P. Papp Stadium.
The Scots improve to 12-3-3 overall, while Kenyon finished at 8-6-3.
Wooster will host No. 4 Wittenberg University at 2 p.m. Saturday as Wittenberg defeated No. 1 seed Denison University late Wednesday night.
It will be the Scots' first NCAC Championship game since 2008. Historically, they are 0-2-1 in the title games.