Junior midfielder Nadia Zaffanella scored two second-half goals to overcome the women’s soccer team’s 2-0 halftime deficit to Holy Cross, advancing the team to the Patriot League semifinals for the first time since 2016. Lafayette drew 2-2 before taking the quarterfinals matchup 4-2 in penalty kicks on Sunday on the road.
The Leopards (3-3-3 Patriot League, 5-7-7 overall) underwent a quick turnaround after their tournament berth clincher just four days prior to prepare for Holy Cross (3-3-3 Patriot League, 6-7-6 overall), who they previously fell 1-0 to earlier in the season.
“It was all about focusing on the big three, sleeping, eating right and drinking a lot of water, and just making sure we can recover in time for the next game,” Zaffanella said.
The Crusaders wasted no time getting on the board with a 13th-minute strike from the back of the box to give them the advantage. Nearly half an hour later, the Leopards found themselves in a hole after committing a box foul, allowing Holy Cross to connect on the penalty kick and go up 2-0.
Despite multiple opportunities to notch into the goal column in the first half, none of the Leopards’ five shots found the back of the net, and they were sent to the locker room needing to find an answer.
“Being down 2-0 was tough, but we knew we still had another 45 minutes to play,” sophomore midfielder Jessica Giordanella said. “We knew we had goals in us.”
The Leopards entered the second half with some fire, getting three shots off in the 48th minute alone, but the Crusaders’ goalkeeper swatted away two of the attempts before Zaffanella’s shot cleared the crossbar.
Zaffanella finally got the Leopards on the board in the 63rd minute, receiving a pass in front of the net from junior defender Eva Acker and finishing in the bottom right corner.
“Eva has been known to be really aggressive and attack our opponents on the dribble,” Zaffanella said. “Once I saw her breaking into the offensive half, I was able to position myself in between the outside back and the center back, and fortunately, Holy Cross left me unmarked.”
Senior forward Katrina Santelli nearly tied the game up five minutes later — breaking free towards the net — but her shot rattled off the crossbar to keep the score at 2-1.
With just over 10 minutes to play, Zaffanella cashed in for the equalizer. Similar to her first, Zaffanella was fed the ball by junior forward Ava Murphy and found the bottom right corner to knot the game at two apiece.
“I was left unmarked and was able to run in behind,” Zaffanella said, who is now sixth all-time in scoring for the Leopards. “Ava was able to slide a great pass in between the two defenders, and then me and Katrina were both running at the ball, and I called her off.”
With no winner decided after regulation and both overtime periods, the fate of each team rested on penalty kicks.
The Leopards went a perfect four-for-four in penalties, with senior midfielder April McDonald, Zaffanella, freshman midfielder Era Methoxha and Giordanella all connecting on their shots to put the Maroon and White up 4-2.
“I definitely was nervous before, but I knew I needed to step up for the team’s sake,” Giordanella said, who entered the game for the first time in penalties.
Needing to score on their last two attempts, the Crusaders lined up for the fourth shot. The attempt went just high of the cage as the Leopards left the dogfight victorious.
“I love this team so much, and just to be able to win, especially away, it’s a great feeling,” Giordanella said.
The Leopards will look to keep the ball rolling against one-seeded Boston University (7-1-1 Patriot League, 10-4-3 overall) on Thursday with hopes of advancing to the Patriot League Championship.
“We knew it was going to be a quick turnaround, but that’s kind of been the situation all season,” Zaffanella said. “We know it’s going to be a big one.”