FINAL SCORE: Vermont 2, Albany 1
ALBANY, N.Y. – UVM junior
Brooke Jenkins scored the game-winning goal in the final minute as sixth-seeded Vermont pulled off a 2-1 upset at third-seeded Albany on Thursday night in the America East Quarterfinal. The Catamounts improve to 8-8-2 on the year with the victory while the Great Danes close the books on a 6-11-1 season.
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"We've had some really close matchups with Albany," head coach
Kristi Lefebvre said. "We've faced them a ton in the playoffs. We've been on the downside of a streak against them, so it was nice to obviously get the win and put that to rest.
The Green and Gold will make their third straight semifinal appearance – a first for the program. For the second consecutive year, No. 6 Vermont defeated a No. 3 ranked team in the quarterfinal round of the America East Tournament. With the victory, Lefebvre moves into a second-place tie with Jodi Kenyon for second place on the program's all-time coaching wins list.
The Catamounts broke though in the 36th minute with
Taylor Palmer's first career goal. After
Casey Garfinkel booted a free kick,
Sarah Martin held off a defender on the edge of the box and heel-kicked a ball towards the net. Palmer tracked down the feed and finished the go-ahead score inside of the left post.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Vermont's backline came up with a big stop to preserve the 1-0 lead. On an Albany corner kick,
Christina Barry cleared away a potential equalizer with a header on the goal line.
The Great Danes tied the game at 1-1 in the 63rd minute. Carolina Kopp took a free kick from the left side of the field, two yards shy of the box, and hooked a ball towards the near post where Katie Gowing tapped in the goal with her knee.
In the final minute, Jenkins played a ball into the box but the cross was cleared away by Albany's defense. The junior midfielder gathered the loose ball and lined the game-winning goal into the right side of the net from 30 yards out after getting a friendly deflection off a leaping Great Dane defender.
Vermont will travel to second-seeded Binghamton on Sunday (Oct. 29) in the America East Semifinal. The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Almartin Volvo is the presenting sponsor of the 2017 women's soccer season.
