The University of Scranton women’s soccer team completed another unbeaten regular season of conference play and secured the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference playoffs with a 1-1 draw in double overtime against Catholic University on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Fitzpatrick Field.

The Royals (14-2-2, 4-0-2 Landmark) will host a Landmark Conference semifinal match against Moravian on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Field. The Greyhounds (7-9-3, 2-2-2) are the No. 4 seed. Second-seeded Juniata (14-4, 4-2 Landmark) will host third-seeded Drew (14-3, 4-2) in the other semifinal. With Scranton’s tie, Drew had an opportunity to earn the top seed by defeating Juniata on Saturday, but the Rangers lost, 3-0.

Scranton struck quickly on Saturday when senior forward Samantha Russo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) scored at the 9:59 mark of the first half. Junior midfielder Ellen Walker (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) sent a corner kick into the box where it deflected off a defender and straight to Russo, who beat the Catholic goalkeeper to the low right side.

The Royals controlled play for most of the first half, holding a 6-2 advantage in shots and 5-0 in corner kicks. But Catholic (10-8-1, 2-3-1 Landmark) scored the tying goal at 63:00 in the second half when junior forward Kaylre Greaves (Ocean, N.J./Ocean Township) deflected home a direct kick by freshman midfielder Alexis Garcia (Miami Beach, Fla./Miami Beach Senior).

With Catholic needing a win to qualify for the playoffs and Scranton hoping for a victory to remove any doube about earning the top seed, both teams continued to push the action for the remainder of regulation and both overtime periods.

Scranton had two early chances in the first overtime that it could not convert as both teams finished with three shots in the first 10-minute period. In the second overtime, the Royals had a 4-1 advantage in shots and 3-0 in corner kicks, but were unable to find the winning goal.

Catholic sophomore goalkeeper Lexi Halperin (River Vale, N.Y./Pascack Valley) was a big reason the Royals had to settle for a tie, making six saves in the match, including three in the overtime periods. She made arguably the biggest play of the match with just over two minutes remaining when she made a diving save on Russo’s shot that was about to curl inside the left post.

Scranton senior goalkeeper Kelsy McAnelly (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) also had a strong match, finishing with four saves, including one in the second overtime period.

Russo’s goal was her 10th of the season, tied for the team lead, and the 32nd of her career, 10th most in school history. She now has 87 career points, tied for ninth in school history.

Walker’s assist was her third of the season and sixth of her career.

Prior to the match, the Royals honored their four seniors – Russo, McAnelly, defender Kaitlyn Greeley (Bardonia, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and midfielder Katie Hennigan (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell).

The tie extends Scranton’s unbeaten streak this season to 16 straight after a pair of season-opening losses. The Royals have not lost in their last 30 matches against a Landmark Conference opponent, including playoffs, doing 26-0-4 during that span. They have not lost a regular season Landmark Conference match since a 2-0 loss at Drew on Oct. 10, 2009, and their last loss to a Landmark opponent came later that season when they fell to Catholic, 1-0, in a semifinal playoff match.

The three-time defending conference champions will begin their defense of their title on Wednesday, Nov. 6, when they host Moravian in a semifinal at 7 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Field. Should the Royals win, they will host the Landmark Conference championship against either Juniata or Drew on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Fitzpatrick Field at a time to be determined.

--ROYALS--