No. 23 Slippery Rock University women’s soccer team fell in overtime, 1-0, to Gannon University in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship game Sunday at James Egli Field.
Gannon opened the contest with the first three shots of the game before SRU responded with two of its own from Lilia Battalini and Jilly Deivert.
After a relatively quiet opening period, the first shot on goal came in the 42nd minute when a shot from Peyton Los was saved by Gannon goalkeeper Alwa Wennstroem, keeping the game scoreless heading into halftime.
Slippery Rock goalkeeper Allman recorded her first save of the contest in the 51st minute, stopping a shot from Brooklyn Respecki. Wennstroem answered in the 58th minute, turning away a shot from Jordyn Constable.
Gannon continued to apply pressure, recording three shots on goal within a one-minute span from Gianna Barela, Jessie Watkins and Respecki. However, Rock goalkeeper Leah Allman stood tall, turning away all three attempts to keep the game scoreless.
The physicality picked up in the second half, with both teams combining for twice as many fouls as they had in the opening period. Olivia Dixon and Lindsey Price received yellow cards in the 81st minute.
Allman made another late save on a shot from Hannah Shepard, helping send the contest into overtime for the second consecutive game for The Rock.
The Golden Knights opened the overtime period with immediate pressure, earning two corner kicks in the first three minutes.
The breakthrough finally came just under four minutes into the extra period. Respecki had her initial attempt blocked before collecting the rebound and sending a shot from just inside the box past Allman to secure the 1-0 victory for Gannon, giving the Golden Knights their first PSAC Championship in program history.
Slippery Rock suffered its first defeat in its last 12 games and moved to 15-3-3 overall on the season. Gannon extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games and improved to 16-2-3 in on the season.
Slippery Rock finished with an advantage in saves (5-2), while Gannon held the edge in shots (15-10) and shots on goal (6-2).
Despite the loss, SRU would earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019, being named the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Region. The Rock will travel north to Erie on Friday, facing off against Frostburg State University in the opening round.
