RINDGE, N.H. (November 3, 2022) -- It was a high-flying Northeast-10 Conference Championship semifinal on Thursday night at Sodexo Field, as the No. 14 nationally-ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team and third-seeded Adelphi combined for 40 shots on the evening, including 25 shots on goal. Despite the barrage of shots, scoring was at a premium, as both sides struck in the waning moments of the first half, but then the game went scoreless for the next hour. In the end, it was the NE10 Player and Rookie of the Year, Adelphi freshman Madison Apicella, who sent her team through to the final, as her 104^th-minute goal boosted the Panthers to a 2-1 (2 OT) victory.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 14-3-2, but will still be headed to the NCAA Championship via an at-large bid when the field is announced on Monday at 7 p.m., as the Ravens are currently ranked first in the East Region. With the victory, Adelphi improves to 12-4-2 and advances to meet top-seeded and No. 6 Saint Rose in the NE10 Championship final, set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at Saint Rose.

Thursday night featured an intriguing matchup, as Apicella and her aforementioned offensive accolades squared off with the NE10 Defensive Player of the Year, in Franklin Pierce junior Aino Martikainen (Järvenpää, Finland). Both were able to exert their influence on the game over the course of the night, as Apicella powered an Adelphi attack which put 13 shots on the Franklin Pierce net, easily the most the Ravens have allowed all year. Meanwhile, Martikainen and her defensive unit helped the Ravens control large stretches of play, particularly in regulation, where the home team chalked up advantages of 23-11 in shot attempts, 12-8 in shots on goal and 8-4 in corner kicks.

While Franklin Pierce controlled much of the first hour, it was Adelphi which turned things on late. The Panthers came alive in the final half-hour, and began to spend more time with the ball. The trend carried into overtime, where the visitors chalked up a 5-1 advantage in shot attempts, in pursuit of a marker to break the 1-1 tie.

The pursuit paid off in the 104^th minute, when Apicella could no longer be held at bay by Martikainen and the Franklin Pierce defense. The freshman got on the other end of a long service ahead from the midfield and deftly one-touched it past the only defender between her and the goal. Alone against the oncoming threat, Franklin Pierce sophomore goalkeeper Emilie Fox (Bridgewater, Mass.) was equal to the task initially, as she turned aside Apicella's first shot -- one of four saves by Fox across the two overtime periods. However, the rebound came right back to the feet of Apicella, who thumped it home for her team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce could do little to rebut over the final 6:35. The Ravens did generate one chance through the left side of the box, but the shot of sophomore Salome Kerguillec (Landerneau, France) missed the target and hit the side netting outside the left post.

Earlier in the night, the two teams had traded corner-kick goals just 2:21 apart late in the first half. Franklin Pierce had the opener in the 39^th minute, as Kerguillec took a corner from the left wing and found the head of Martikainen, outside the six-yard box in front of the right post. Martikainen put a header on target, and Adelphi graduate student goalkeeper Lydia Fraga Cordoba leaped to get her hands to it, but could not hold on. The ball got behind her, and an opportunistic Makenzie Shean (Agawam, Mass.) finished off her second of the campaign.

Adelphi answered quickly, in the 42^nd minute, also off a corner kick from the left wing. This one was a little cleaner, as Apicella served the ball in front of the left post, where junior Kayla Mushorn was waiting to head her third of the year into the left side of the net.

Fox (10-2-2) posted her first career double-digit save performance, as she turned aside 11 of 13 shots on her goal in a losing effort. Fraga Cordoba (2-1-0) made 11 saves of her own, against 12 shots, in front of the Adelphi net.