SCRANTON, PA (November 12, 2022) -- The University of Scranton women's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon in a contest that ended in a penalty kick shootout which the Royals won 5-4.

With the win, the Royals move on to tomorrow's second round game where they will take on Westfield State University at 3:00 PM at Weiss Field.

Bowdoin had several opportunities in the opening half but the Scranton backline held strong and prevented the Polar Bears from getting on the scoreboard. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Olson (Stoughton, Mass. / Ursuline Academy) made a huge save in the opening minutes of the second half on a point blank header from Bowdoin to keep the game scoreless. The sophomore goalkeeper then followed up with a clutch double-save just minutes later to keep the Polar Bears off the score sheet.

Scranton took to the attack later in the second half and nearly found the go-ahead goal several times but Bowdoin's goalkeeper Alex Arndt came up big for her squad and made several key saves. 

The pace of the game settled down during the overtime periods as both squads battled through the extra twenty minutes of action. With the game still locked up at 0-0 after 110 minutes both sides prepared for penalty kicks. 

Senior Teresa Hegarty (Bryn Mawr, Pa. / Merion Mercy Academy), senior Evelyn Bruggeman (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan), junior Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y. / Tappan Zee), and graduate student Stephanie Lowrey (Bridgewater, N.J. / Bridgewater-Raritan) each stepped up and buried their penalty kicks for the Royals. Olson made a save on Bowdoin's fourth penalty kick which set up junior Claire Mulholland (Marlton, N.J. / Cherokee) for the winning PK which she ripped into the top right corner leaving Arndt no chance.

Olson made her mark on the game with six saves and earned her 10th shutout of the season. Offensively Healy paced the Royals with 10 shots in the contest.

--ROYALS--