PHILADELPHIA AND HOLY FAMILY TO BATTLE FOR CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

November 3, 2011

PHILADELPHIA AND HOLY FAMILY TO BATTLE FOR CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Nov. 3, 2011) – Top seed Philadelphia University and No. 6 Holy Family University will battle for the 2011 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) women’s soccer title Saturday afternoon at Chestnut Hill College’s Victory Field. The Rams and Tigers each recorded semi-final victories Thursday evening to earn a spot in the championship, which will begin at 2:30 pm. Holy Family will be making its third straight appearance in the finale.

Philadelphia, the top seed after going 12-0 in conference play, scored three times over a

10:10 span during the first half on its way to a 3-0 victory over No. 4 Georgian Court University.

The Lady Rams (16-2-2) are seeking their first CACC title since 2006. Trisha Sileo got the scoring started at 24:21 with her seventh goal of 2011. After receiving a pass from Carla Chmielewski, Sileo deposited her shot into the lower left corner from 19 yards away. Janine Cascio's sixth goal of the year doubled the Philadelphia advantage at 27:31. Gabrielle Haden centered the ball from the left side and Cascio, who was alone in the penalty area, put the ball into the center of the goal.

The Lady Rams' final goal came off the head of Melissa Copeland at the 32:32 mark. Haden lofted the ball into the penalty area where Copeland was able to knock the ball into the right side of the goal. The goal is Copeland's seventh of the year. Keepers Kelli Kowalewski and Rebecca Della Peruta combined on the shutout for the Lady Rams. Kowalewski, who was credited with the win, stopped two shots in the first 74:58. Della Peruta made one save in the final 15:02. Georgian Court (11-9) keeper Shealyn Sullivan recorded seven saves. The Lady Rams owned a 19-11 shot advantage.

Holy Family pushed aside No. 7 Dominican College, 3-2, Thursday evening. The Tigers tallied the game's first goal in the 21st minute after junior Kathryn Helkowski scored from 20-yards out as the ball trickled under the hands of the Dominican goalkeeper. It marked Helkowski's second score of the season as the Tigers led 1-0. Minutes later, Holy Family doubled its lead when senior Dawn Curry headed the ball into the back of the net off a pass from Helkowski from 45-yards out. Curry's 13th goal of the season tied a career high and gave Holy Family a 2-0 lead.

Dominican cut the lead in half in the 34th minute when sophomore Olivia Antonopoulos scored from 25-yards out to make the score 2-1. The score remained that way through the rest of the first half and into halftime. Holy Family outshot Dominican 13-6 in the first half and held a 26-14 advantage for the game.

In the second half, Holy Family tacked on its third score of the game when senior Lindsay Fisher scored off a rebound by a previous shot by Curry. Fisher's fourth goal of the season in the 59th minute gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead and turned out to be the difference in the game. Dominican would fight back to make the score 3-2 in the 62nd minute after Jamilyn Snyder scored off a free kick. Despite the comeback by the Chargers, the Holy Family defense managed to keep Dominican off the scoreboard the rest of the way to secure the 3-2 victory.

2011 CACC Women’s Soccer Tournament
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Nov. 1

#1 Philadelphia 1, #8 Post 0 (OT)

#7 Dominican 3, #2 Felician – 1

#6 Holy Family 4, #3 Caldwell 0

#4 Georgian Court 5, #5 Chestnut Hill 1

Semi-Finals – Thursday, Nov. 3 at Chestnut Hill College

Philadelphia 3, Georgian Court 0
Holy Family 3, Dominican 2

Championship Match – Saturday, Nov. 5 at Chestnut Hill College

Philadelphia vs. Holy Family - 2:30 pm