North Greenville, UNC Pembroke Advance to Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship Final
NGU-BAC BOX SCORE | UMO-UNCP BOX SCORE
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BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. – The 2022 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship final will feature a pair of teams who are familiar with the championship contest as top-seeded North Greenville will face No. 3 seed UNC Pembroke on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. at the Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park.
The Crusaders are playing in their second title game in the past three years, but are looking for the program’s first title while UNC Pembroke is trying to repeat as tournament champions.
North Greenville (10-8-2) started the day with a 3-1 victory over No. 5 seed Belmont Abbey (13-3-1). North Greenville got on the board first in the eighth minute as Jada Patrick sent a cross far post and ricocheted off of a Belmont Abbey defender for the 1-0 advantage. In the 26th minute, Alexah Fite finished far post from 10 yards out off of a cross from Romee Contreras for the 2-0 lead. The Abbey cut into the lead in the 36th minute as Anna Schellpepper sent a ball through the keeper’s hands where Alyssa Espinosa was able to chest the ball across the line. Aubrey Kramer was in the right place at the right time as she scored from the top of the box on a failed clear attempt in the 75th minute for the final margin. Belmont Abbey outshot North Greenville 16-15 in the contest, but NGU had a 10-5 advantage in shots on frame. Lauryn Harding made eight saves in the loss, while Samantha Montgomery stopped four balls for NGU.
In the second semifinal, No. 3 UNC Pembroke (15-2-2) scored two overtime goals to defeat No. 2 Mount Olive (13-5-0) and earn their second-straight championship appearance. It was an eventful first half that featured four games, two for each team. Mount Olive scored first in the seventh minute as Delia Allwood had a shot saved, but Addison Dangler blasted the rebound inside the far corner for the early lead. Ashleigh Harris sent a through ball in the 24th minute that Mercy Bell was able to run on to and she beat the keeper 1-v-1 for the equalizer. Five minutes later Ilaya Bigford touched a ball away on defense and sent a long ball to Anna Grossheim who ran onto the ball in stride and beat the keeper far post for the 2-1 lead. Then, in the 26th minute, Allwood pulled the Trojans even off a set piece as she blasted a loose ball into the back of the net for the 2-2 tie.
After a scoreless second half, it was all UNC Pembroke in overtime as Mercy Bell netted her second of the contest on a long double-assist from Naomi Fountain and Kennedy Rucker to go ahead 3-2. In the second overtime, Fountain scored a goal far post on a cross from Harris and Grossheim for the final 4-2 margin. The Braves attempted 26 shots with 11 on frame, while the Trojans tallied 14 shots with seven on goal. Nicole Solicito made seven saves in the loss, while Chiara Coppin stopped four in the contest.
Fans can watch every game of the tournament live and on-demand via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and the Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park are available
here.
2022 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship
First Round – Wednesday, October 26 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#5 Belmont Abbey def. #8 Chowan, 2-0 (Box Score)
#6 Emmanuel def. #7 Barton, 2-0 (Box Score)
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 29 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#5 Belmont Abbey at #4 Lees-McRae, 4-2 (Box Score)
#6 Emmanuel at #3 UNC Pembroke, 1-1 (5-4 PKs) (Box Score)
Semifinals – Friday, November 4 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit N.C.)
#1 North Greenville def. #5 Belmont Abbey, 3-1 (Box Score)
#3 UNC Pembroke def. #2 Mount Olive, 4-2 (OT) (Box Score)
Final – Sunday, November 6 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit N.C.)
#1 North Greenville vs. #3 UNC Pembroke, 1 p.m.