Playoff Spot Slips Away From Women's Soccer At Purchase; Bears Can Clinch Wednesday

Playoff Spot Slips Away From Women's Soccer At Purchase; Bears Can Clinch Wednesday

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Both tied for fifth place and looking to solidify a berth in the Skyline Conference Championships, Deserae Sequeira (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) gave the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's soccer team an early lead on Purchase College, but the Panthers scored two goals in the final 15 minutes to escape with a 2-1 victory and the fifth playoff spot.

Despite the loss, St. Joseph's will host Sarah Lawrence College for the sixth-and-final playoff spot on Wednesday evening with the Bears looking to make their first Skyline postseason appearance.

The Basics

  • Final Score: Purchase 2, St. Joseph's 1
  • Records: Purchase (6-9, 4-4), St. Joseph's (7-7, 3-5)
  • Location: Purchase, N.Y.

How It Happened

  • The hosts registered the first three shots of the game with Lauren Quesada making two stops before Deserae Sequeira made the most of a 1-on-1 opportunity with the keeper, finding the back of the net in the 21st minute with her league-leading 22nd goal of the season.
  • An evenly played opening half saw limited opportunities for either side and Sequeira's marker stood as the lone goal through the second stanza when Brett Robison put in a loose ball from inside the box to knot the game at 1-all in the 76th minute.
  • Finding their first tally, the Panthers kept the pressure on and earned two more corner kicks before St. Joseph's countered firing off three shots—two by Sequeira and one by Anisah Molic.
  • But Purchase would deliver the heartbreaker with under three minutes left to play in regulation as Robison found the back of the net again with a hard shot from close range and clinched a playoff spot for the Panthers.

For the Bears

  • Sequeira had five of the Bears seven official shots, with four coming on goal.
  • Jamilynn McGowan (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael Petrides) and Anisah Molic (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) also recorded a shot.
  • Sophomore goalie Lauren Quesada (Westbury, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) made five saves in a losing effort as Purchase held a 15-7 shot advantage.

The Bear Facts

  • With one regular-season game remaining, Sequeira has a three-goal lead and a five-point lead atop the Skyline leaders.
  • The Bears suffered 12-0 (2015) and 7-0 (2016) losses to Purchase in the two previous meetings

Next Up for the Bears

  • With Monday's non-conference game against CCNY canceled, St. Joseph's will celebrate Senior Night hosting Sarah Lawrence College on Wednesday (Oct. 28) at Aviator Field. Both with matching 3-5 league records, the victor will claim sixth place and a spot in the Skyline Championships set to begin next Saturday.