Wildcats advance to conference championship

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Kara Widdison (Greenfield, Mass.) scored the game winning goal while lying on her stomach in the 82nd minute of play to lift Wheelock College to a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over Daniel Webster College in the semi-final round of the New England Collegiate Conference playoffs Tuesday night at Winsor Field. With the win, Wheelock advances to Saturday afternoon’s championship match-up with Becker College, who defeated Elms College 4-0 on Tuesday evening. (Right: Wheelock's Jacky Hull wins a ball against Laura Gianetti of Daniel Webster).

After combining for a total of six shots on goal in their last regular season meeting, the two teams spent less time in the midfield area and more on offense, joining together for a total of 46 shots in the game.

Tuesday's game was one of momentum swings, and after turning Wheelock away in the first twenty minutes of the half, Daniel Webster finally took a 1-0 lead at the 24:24 mark when Sarah Steves (North Granville, NY) scored on a pass from Maeghan Farrelly (Jamestown, RI). Wheelock answered less than a minute later though, with the first of freshman Despina Savvoulides' (Norwalk, Conn.) three goals on the night.

The Eagles worked the energy back in their favor near the end of the first half, when Kyla Palaschak (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored a goal from a deflected shot off Wheelock goalkeeper Meredith Race (Marion, Mass.) to give Daniel Webster a 2-1 lead heading into half-time.

In the second half Daniel Webster maintained the momentum, and Farrelly scored a goal on a corner play that gave the Eagles a two goal advantage with 22 minutes remaining in regulation.  After creating a number of scoring opportunities over the next ten minutes, Wheelock finally answered Daniel Webster when Savvoulides scored her second goal with 12 minutes remaining. Then, at the 63:42 mark, Widdison laced a pass across the field to Savvoulides, who knocked the ball into the left corner of the goal to knot the score at 3.

In overtime, the Wildcats outshot the Eagles 11-1, but Daniel Webster goalkeeper Amy Prince (Hope Valley, RI) recorded seven saves to keep her team in the game. With less than five minutes remaining in the first overtime, however,  Widdison slapped a first shot off of Prince's pads, and the second to the right corner of the goal to propel the Wildcats to their first playoff win.

Prince recorded 18 saves for Daniel Webster while teammates Farrelly and Briana DeSeignora (Medfield, Mass.) each recorded a defensive save. For Wheelock, Widdison, Taylor Rogers (Essex, Mass.) and Rachel Robohm (North Easton, Mass.) each recorded an assist, while Race notched five saves. The Eagles end the season with a 6-9 mark and a 4-5 record in conference play.