Lakers Top Hornets; Advance to Regional Finals

CANANDAIGUA -- McKenzie Miller would score in the 51st minute and the Lakers would hold to defeat SUNY Broome in Women's Soccer 2-1 on Tuesday. With the win, Finger Lakes advances to the Region IIIA Final on Saturday.

Broome would jump out to a fast start and apply pressure early against the Lakers. Danielle Tyrrell would send a through ball behind the Lakers defensive line to Kelsie Gooding. Freshman defender Lindsay Zink would recover and outrun Gooding to the ball and sweep it to safety for the Lakers. Finger Lakes would get on the board in the 27th minute. Amanda DeGraff would send a ball towards the Hornets keeper and Laker forward Brittany Maggio. The ball would go past Roys in net and roll towards the endline. Maggio would save the ball on the line, bring it back into play, can tuck it around the right post for the 1-0 Lakers lead. Gooding would once again apply pressure to the Lakers goal after getting a pass in the box, but Jessa Blondell would come across and stop the pressure to preserve the 1-0 halftime lead.

Jessa Blondell would get the Lakers going on the offensive end to start the second half off. In the 52nd minute, she would find McKenzie Miller on a pass just outside of the 18 yard box. Miller would rip the shot to the left side of the net for the goal and 2-0 lead. The two goal margin would be short lived, however, as Kelsie Gooding would get the tally for the Hornets just three minutes later. Finger Lakes would have multiple attempts to push the margin back to two, however Ariel Roys would stop multiple Maggio shots in the second half. Brittany Maggio finished with a game-high six shots on goal. Broome would get a couple quality opportunities in the waining moments of the match. Danielle Tyrrell would put a high volley towards the Lakers net, but Daniele Ogrodowski was able to get a hand on it and tip it over the net. Their final opportunity would come on a free kick with a minute remain, just outside of the Lakers box. Katelyn Simpson would take it for the Hornets and take the direct shot towards the upper right corner of the Lakers net. Ogrodowski would be there to make her 11th and final save of the game and secure the 2-1 Finger Lakes win.

With the win, Finger Lakes advances to the Region IIIA Finals where they will face the Mohawk Valley Community College Hawks, who defeated Onondaga CC 3-0 in the semi-finals. The Hawks defeated the Lakers earlier in the season by the score of 2-1. The Finals are hosted by Tompkins Cortland CC this Saturday. A kickoff is set for 1pm.