FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Sacred Heart University women's soccer team battled hard but could not find a late equalizer, falling in its debut in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women's Soccer Championship quarterfinals to top-seeded Fairfield on Sunday afternoon, 1-0.
The Stags, who dropped their only conference contest to the Pios in mid-October, started the stronger of the two sides, hemming SHU in its own half for the majority of the first 20 minutes of the match. With a plethora of shots making their way toward SHU goalkeeper
Kyran Thievon, the Pioneer sophomore held her own, grabbing five saves halfway through the first half.
Looking to change the tide, SHU found some good chances of their own in the latter stages of the half as
Lyndsey Laperle's shot in the 37
th minute ended a good spout of build-up play from the Red & White. However, the sophomore's shot went awry ending one of the best opportunities for the Pios through the match.
With the Stags looking for the opening goal, Thievon held strong in the remaining portion of the first 45 minutes, grabbing 10 saves to keep the match deadlocked in a scoreless draw heading into the break.
Much like the first half, Fairfield dominated the early going of the second half, holding a majority of the possession heading into the hour mark. In the 58
th minute, the hosts found the breakthrough after a long throw in from Allie Kirby found the feet of Reagan Klarmann who slotted a low shot inside the near post to put the Stags up 1-0.
Following the goal, the Pios pestered Fairfield for the remainder of the match, limiting the Stags to just three total shots on goal in the second half as Thievon collected two more saves to her ledger, finishing with a near season-high 12 saves as the clock ran toward zero.
With time winding down, SHU found one last ditch opportunity to grab an equalizer after
Morgan Bovardi was fouled just inside the Stags half, allowing
Kelly Medeiros time to set up a long-ball service into the penalty area. Though the Stags failed to deal with the initial ball, no one in a gray jersey could find a shooting lane as time expired on the Pios postseason journey with Fairfield holding on to a 1-0 victory.
Top Performers:
Of Note:
- The Pioneers finish the 2024 campaign with a 3-11-5 record after securing the program's first appearance in the MAAC postseason tournament in its debut season.
- Kelly Medeiros ends her four-year career having played in every match for the Pioneers since arriving on campus in 2021, totaling 76 games.
- Grace O'Hara ends her four-year career with the Pios as the program's leading point scorer and assist leader after breaking both records this season. Her 24 goals place her second in program history.
- Shea Kelleher ends the season as the top Pioneer scorer, tallying 11 including five goals. She also ends the season as one of three players to have started every match in 2024.
- Morgan Bovardi and Theanna Burnett join Kelleher as the lone three Pioneers to have started every match.
- A total of 10 Pioneers appeared in every match this season: Kelleher, Bovardi, Burnett, Grace O'Hara, Kelly Medeiros, Martyna Krzysztopik, Lyndsey Laperle, MacLaren Richards, Jaci Budaj and Miriam Shomstein.
