Worcester, MA --- Highlighted by Keene State senior Sia Karamourtopolous' (Freemont, NH) goal in the 68th minute, the second-seeded Owls defeated #6 St. Joseph (Connecticut) 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2011 ECAC Division III New England Women's Soccer Tournament at Coughlin Field this afternoon.
With the win Keene State (15-7-2) advances to tomorrow's championship where they will play top-seed Worcester State who blanked #4 UMass Boston, 1-0, earlier today. The Owls look to secure their crown from last season as they are the two-time defending champions. They also walked off the field with the trophy in 2005.
The Blue Jays end their season in their fourth ECAC appearance following their first ever-win in the tournament over third-seed Salve Regina in the quarterfinals. They end their 2011 campaign at 13-7-2 overall.
The opening frame would see the Owls post a 14-6 advantage in shots, but it would be a battle of two outstanding defenses as the squads would draw to a scoreless tie at the break. Of Keene State's shots, St. Joseph would block four of them before they reached the net and senior keeper Holly Mirabella (Seymour, CT) turned aside five attempts.
Keene State senior Melissa Dempsey (E. Weymouth, MA) had consecutive free kick opportunities from 30 yards away, but Mirabella jumped into the air to send them over the net and out of harms way.
Coming out of the gate in the second stanza, the Blue Jays had four shots on goal with including a pair by sophomore Patricia Nolan (Portland, CT), but fourth-year net minder Melissa Dempsey (E. Weymouth, MA) snatched them both out of the air to keep the game scoreless.
The Owls finally broke the stalemate when Karamourtopolous blasted a dish from sophomore Jessica Berthiaume (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian).
Freshman Kelly Burrell (Cumberland, ME) added the insurance goal when she headed a shot that was sent to her from fourth-year Erin Griffin (Londonderry, NH) and Berthiaume in the 78th minute.
Despite the two marker hole, St. Joseph locked in and did everything they could to slice into the deficit. In the closing minutes sophomore Tiana Saraceno (Plainville, CT) and Nolan each had great bids, but Saraceno's was just to the left of the post and Nolan's was too high.
In the final period Keene State would only have an 11-9 advantage in shots as they would finish the contest with a 27-13 edge in the category and a 4-1 lead in corner kicks.
Dempsey stopped four shots in her 11th shutout of the season while Mirabella was outstanding with 11 saves in the setback.