ERIE, Pa. – The Baldwin Wallace University women's soccer team won the 2019 Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament Championship Game, hosted by Penn State Behrend College, by a final score of 1-0 against Nazareth (N.Y.) College.
BW (2-0) came out victorious over Nazareth (1-1) in the two programs' first ever meeting on the pitch.
The Yellow Jackets faced an early surge by the Golden Flyers who applied some offensive pressure in the first 15 minutes of the contest. Despite the near scare of a semi-breakaway that resulted in a shot off the goal post by Nazareth, the remainder of the first half was a possession game with limited scoring opportunities.
The first 20 minutes of the second half carried a similar style of play as the majority of action remained in the middle of the field. BW limited Nazareth's minimal chances to ambitious shots from outside the crease, and encountered difficulties generating offense themselves. Nazareth had a great chance later in the second half, ringing a free kick off the crossbar in the 75th minute. In the final moments of the match, despite pandemonium in front of the net off a corner kick, sophomore midfielder Maddie Farrell (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) banked in the deciding goal with 15 seconds to go to put the Yellow Jackets up 1-0. Senior midfielder Kenna Poptic (Dublin/Jerome) received an assist on the play. The crucial goal proved to be the difference as BW secured the victory and were declared tournament champions.
Senior goalkeeper Emma Bruno (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park) improved her record to 2-0, earning her second consecutive shutout, while making one save in the process.
BW's Farrell, who played hero in tonight's match, will be bringing home some hardware as she was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
The Yellow Jackets' next game will take place on Wednesday, September 4 when they travel to Springfieldto take on non-conference opponent Wittenberg University at 7 p.m.
