Box Score
DELAWARE, Ohio – Junior Becca Crissman converted a great opportunity in the 72nd minute while Allegheny dominated possession and the chances en route to a 1-0 victory at Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday. The season-ending win secured a coveted spot in the NCAC postseason semifinals for the third consecutive year and a re-match against the league's regular season champion, Wooster.
After a quiet first half, Allegheny (14-1-3, 4-1-2 NCAC) cranked up the pressure in the second. The Gators were able to get numbers forward with regularity to support a build up in the attack. Allegheny tested Ohio Wesleyan keeper Hannah Zacharias four times in the first 15 minutes of the second frame, while a header by Abby Silvester off a beautiful corner by Jenna Smith sailed just high in the 62nd minute. While Crissman would eventually put home the game-winner, she nearly found the net in the 66th minute, but lifted her shot over the crossbar following a tremendous centering pass by Molly Waggoner.
The Gators continued a blanketing pressure that resulted in three corners over a 10 minute stretch. With seven players in the box during the 71st minute, a corner kick by Alex Gordon landed in the middle of the box and pinballed around the goal line before Zacharias snatched the ball out of danger.
Capitalizing on another chance, Gordon teamed with Crissman to fuel the game-winning strike. Standing 35 yards out from the OWU goal, Gordon booted a beautiful service to the top of the six where Crissman promptly headed it into the right corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
For most of the second half, it appeared as though Allegheny was swimming downstream as it kept the ball under its control and in the offensive third. The Battling Bishops nearly manufactured a chance in the 84th minute, but Chyna Strickland did a nice job of preventing the turn after one of OWU's players corralled a centering pass in the box.
Allegheny outshot OWU, 18-8, while six Gators had at least two attempts on goal. Emily Karr stopped five shots en route to her 12th clean sheet of the campaign, while she established a new program record for shutouts in a season. Karr also extended her school record for career shutouts to 29.
Despite ending the regular season with just one loss, the Gators finished fourth in the team standings with 14 points (4-1-2). Allegheny will face top seed Wooster (5-1-1 NCAC) in the semifinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. No. 2 Denison (5-2-0) and No. 3 Wittenberg (5-2-0) will square off in the second semifinal. The NCAC Championship will be played on Saturday, Nov. 6, at the site of the highest remaining seed.
