By Joey Bachich
Staff Writer
The Lions defeated Rowan in the NJAC championship to win the conference title for the fifth time in the last six seasons. With this win, they have clinched an automatic bid into the Division III NCAA tournament.
The No. 15 Lions and the No. 10 Rowan University Profs met again for the third year running in the NJAC tournament. They have split the last two championships, with Rowan defeating the Lions in the semifinals last season 1-0 and the College winning two years ago in the championship on penalty kicks.
This season, both teams have been outstanding and looked to have a mini dynasty run in the NJAC to keep the momentum going into the NCAA tournament. Rowan came into the game 14-0-2 with a run of six victories in a row, with one of those coming against the Lions on the road. The College entered with a record of 14-2-1 and were looking to avenge the losses Rowan has handed them over the past two seasons.
The game started off with a back-and-forth, as the Profs secured a corner within the first five minutes of the game. The Lions came to life at the 10-minute mark with a barrage of shots and pressure that was building outside of the Profs’ box.
The Lions got the scoring started with a cross from fifth-year journalism major Emma Pascarella that found the head of junior marketing major Victoria D’Imperio, who put the ball in the back of the net and shocked the Profs, who had not let up a goal since Sept. 30.
The Lions played fantastic in the first half, letting up no shots on goal. The second half was a bit closer, with Rowan pressing forward, forcing freshman goalie and kinesiology and health science major Bella Norman to make an impressive kick save, which kept the game at 1-0.
In the dying minutes of the game, Rowan was pushing everyone forward and Pascarella won the ball from the goalie playing high, scoring on the empty net to secure the NJAC championship.
After a huge emotional win, the College now looks to the NCAA tournament where they will play Johnson and Wales University in the first round on Nov. 11 at Lions Stadium.
