University of Albany Women's Soccer Advances to America East Semifinals With a 2-1 Win Over New Hampshire - UAlbany Sports 2010

Albany, N.Y. - Maggie DeVerna and Shayla Bergeron each found the back of the net in leading UAlbany to a 2-1 victory over New Hampshire in the quarterfinal round of the America East Conference Championship on Thursday, Oct. 28 at Varsity Field. The fourth-seeded Great Danes will travel to face top seed Boston U. in a semifinal matchup on Sunday at 1 p.m.

UAlbany (10-7-2), which earned its first postseason victory as a Division I program, used its speed up front to jump out to a two-goal lead before the break. Maggie DeVerna received a through ball from Chelsea DeVerna and came in on a breakaway before punching the ball past goalkeeper Erica Correa to put the Great Danes ahead in the seventh minute. The hosts doubled their lead just before the break in the 40th minute when Shayla Bergeron took a through ball from Rebecca Lee and beat Correa with a low shot to the far post.

"We did a great job of getting opportunities early and then finishing them," said head coach Mary-Frances Monroe, who is in her fifth season. "We knew we had a lot of speed up top and that there was going to be a lot of space behind their back line. One thing we did really well in the first half was getting that diagonal ball past their back line to our three forwards [Chelsea DeVerna, Maggie DeVerna and Shayla Bergeron]."

Trailing by two goals at the recess, New Hampshire came out as the aggressor in the second frame and sliced the lead in half in the 50th minute. Monique Lamotte received a pass from Alyssa Michel at the top left corner of the box and lobbed a shot to the top corner of the net past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Breanna Maggio.

After Amy Harrison hit a shot off the crossbar in an attempt to give the Great Danes a two-goal advantage, the Wildcats continued to apply pressure and created several scoring chances over the last 40 minutes. Ashley Avitable took a hard shot in the 80th minute, but Maggio came away with the key save. UAlbany's back line being anchored by Casey Marks and Kendra Harrell-Vigil did not allow the visitors to attempt a shot the rest of the way, allowing the hosts to hold on for the one-goal win.

New Hampshire (8-8-4) outshot UAlbany, 15-12, and had a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks. Maggio made four saves on 15 chances for UAlbany to earn the victory, while New Hampshire's Correa stopped two of the 12 shots she faced in the losing effort.

"I believe we have 11 starters and 11 players that are non-starters that give everything that they have in training and in the games," added Monroe, whose team will face a Boston University squad which has won four straight regular-season titles and has not surrendered a goal in 11 straight matches. "I think that is really going to come into play {on Sunday}. We did a good job of keeping the ball and possessing it when we played {Boston University} the last time, but that was more in the middle third of the field. I think that if we can get the ball more into the attacking third, then we will be able to find success."

Paw Prints: UAlbany, which was hosting its first Division I postseason match, advanced to the semifinal round of the America East Conference Championship for the first time in program history ... The Great Danes have won four straight meetings against New Hampshire after dropping the first seven ... The Great Danes also matched their highest win total since posting a 10-6-2 ledge in 1988 ... Maggie DeVerna scored her first goal of the season and second of her career ... Her other marker was set up by Chelsea DeVerna on Aug. 30, 2009 against Pacific ... Shayla Bergeron matched a Division I single-season program record for goals (9) ... Teresa Boring also found the back of the net nine times in 2007 ... Breanna Maggio earned her league-leading eighth shutout of the season between the posts.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information