W. Soccer Beaten by Old Westbury but Readies for Skyline Tournament as No. 5 Seed

Old Westbury, N.Y. -  The St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (6-11-2, 3-5 SKY) fell to the Old Westbury (9-7-1, 3-5 SKY) women's soccer team in a 2-1 Skyline Conference loss at Panther Park.  Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles will still qualify for the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament as the five seed and will play at four seed Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday. 

SJC and Old Westbury played evenly early on until Panther Mayra Bonilla corralled a rebound outside the box to score her fifth goal of the season for an early 1-0 lead at 23:05.  The Panthers would remain in front at the conclusion of the opening 45 minutes despite being outshot, 12-5. 

The Panthers scored again early in the second half when Jordan Schildt found Stephanie Maybie to double Old Westbury's advantage at 46:18 for a 2-0 lead.  St. Joseph's sliced the deficit in half at 54:11 with Jennifer Martino's tenth goal of the season off a feed from Jessica Cordano. 

Caitlin Thomas made six saves to earn Old Westbury's win and Hannah Steffens (1-3) was dealt the Golden Eagles' loss despite stopping 11 shots. 

In the end, Old Westbury outshot St. Joseph's in the second half (14-8) to finish with a 21-20 edge in shots and 13-8 in shots on goal for the game.  Old Westbury also earned an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.    

The Golden Eagles will take on St. Joseph's-Brooklyn at home this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. as they prepare for Saturday's Skyline match.

Looking Ahead to the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament

Seven-time defending champion Farmingdale State is the top seed for the six-team Skyline Women's Soccer Championship, which gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 1. 

The Rams (12-5-3) shared the regular season title with Mount Saint Mary at 7-0-1 in conference play but FSC earned the top overall seed by virtue of the league's tie-breaking procedures. Farmingdale State junior forward Ashlee Thompson leads the team in goals (15), assists (nine) and points (39).  

Also earning a first round bye is MSMC (13-4-1), which has outscored its opponents by a 54-11 margin on the year.  Senior forward Marissa Segreto leads the Knights with 36 points and five game-winning goals.

Saturday's Skyline Tournament first round action features No. 3 Sage hosting sixth-seeded Old Westbury, while No. 5 St. Joseph's visits fourth-seeded Mount Saint Vincent.  The Gators' 9-4-2 overall record (6-2 Skyline) represents a five-win improvement in 2014.

St. Joseph's senior forward Jennifer Martino paces the Golden Eagles in goals (10), assists (six) and points (26).   CMSV (13-4, 5-3 SKY) is led by four-time Skyline Rookie of the Week Megan DeRosa, who has tallied a program single-season record 18 goals and has amassed 44 points in just 14 contests.  

Semifinal action will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 5, while the finals will be played on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 11:00 a.m. on the campus of Purchase College in conjunction with the 2014 Skyline Fall Festival.  

2014 Skyline Women's Soccer Championship
First Round - Saturday, Nov. 1
No. 5 St. Joseph's-L.I. at No. 4 Mount Saint Vincent
No. 6 Old Westbury at No. 3 Sage

Semifinals - Wednesday, Nov. 5
4/5 winner at No. 1 Farmingdale State
3/6 winner at No. 2 Mount Saint Mary

Finals - Saturday, Nov. 8
11:00 a.m. - Purchase College (Skyline Fall Festival)

Game times to be announced