Flash Points:

• ??????SFU out shot FDU 24-6
• Abby Tarosky scored in the 64th minute to break a scoreless tie
• Julia Hernan (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) made three saves for her seventh clean sheet

LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis broke through for a pair of second half goals and advanced to Sunday's conference title match with a 2-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday afternoon at the Stokes SoccerPlex. 

Abigail Tarosky (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin) broke through in the 64th minute gathering in a Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac) pass and beating FDU keeper Amanda Fitzgerald to the left side. Ten minutes later Leah Hardin (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) finished off a Casey Gallaher (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) pass to make it 2-0. 

"Give FDU a lot of credit, that is a talented and dangerous team," head coach Brenda van Stralen said. "This was a strong team effort across the board, again everyone keeps stepping up in these big moments. This was a good win."

Saint Francis came out as the aggressor in the match, attacking the Fairleigh Dickinson defense right in the opening minutes. The Red Flash had chances early and throughout the first half but could not connect. Leah Hardin (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) fired one wide in the 15th minute and Casey Gallaher (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) missed high moments later off a corner kick. The Red Flash defended against Fairleigh Dickinson's counter all match long and Hernan was called upon only once in the first half. The red shirt freshman stopped Stasi Torchia in the 24th minute. SFU out shot FDU 11-2 in the first half and finished the opening 45 minutes with a flurry of attempts. Alyssa McGhee (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Siobhan Bross (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) just missed high on attempts while Casey Gallaher (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) was stopped by FDU keeper Amanda Fitzgerald. We would go to the half in a scoreless tie. 

The Red Flash continued to knock on the door in the second half. Alyssa McGhee (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) was brought down in the box in the 50th minute, resulting in a penalty kick. Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac) struck the kick towards the upper left corner but Fitzgerald got a hand on the ball and punched it over the net on a spectacular save. The Knights were able to counter off the save and Hernan made two more stops to keep the match scoreless. Fitzgerald stopped Morales twice more before the Flash finally broke through. Alyssa Mcghee took the ball on the far side of the field and made a move into the goal box. The freshman flipped a pass to Morales who had her pass deflect off the FDU defense and right to a charging Tarosky. The freshman fired a point blank shot that Fitzgerald got a hand on but couldn't stop it to make it a 1-0 game. 

The Knights nearly tied it up in the 72nd minute as Meghan Griffin found space on the far side of the field. Griffin broke in on Hernan who got a piece of the shot but the ball was cleared off the line by Shannon McGinnis (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) to keep FDU off the scoreboard. On the ensuing counter, the Flash just missed on a pair of attempts. SFU won the ball off a goal kick and Casey Gallaher (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) made a move around the FDU defense and into space. There she found Leah Hardin (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) who broke in alone on Fitzgerald and beat the freshman to the left side for an insurance goal. Fitzgerald would make one more save, stoning McGhee on a breakaway after the freshman had gotten behind a pressing FDU defense. That was the last good opportunity for either team and the Red Flash punched their ticket to Sunday's title match. 

Saint Francis out shot Fairleigh Dickinson 24-6 including 9-3 in shots on goal. They also doubled up the Knights 8-4 on corner kicks. SFU improves to 9-11 on the season while FDU's season ends at 7-12-1. Saint Francis will take on Central Connecticut on Sunday at noon for the Northeast Conference title. The championship match is set for noon.