BOX SCORE | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
KINGSTON, R.I.— Saint Joseph’s scored three goals in the second half to turn back a George Mason rally, winning 5-2 in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals Friday at URI Soccer Complex. The Hawks advance to the A-10 Championship final for the first time in program history.
SJU (18-1-2), the A-10 regular season champion, advances to face seventh-seeded Dayton, which earned a spot in the title game with a 2-0 win over No. 6 George Washington.
Shannon Mulvey scored the Hawks’ first goal, tallying the goal off a rebound of her own first shot that was setup by A-10 Rookie of the Year Gabrielle Vagnozzi. Vagnozzi recorded her own score just under seven minutes later, off a pair of passes by Lauren Dimes and Michaela Finneyfrock. Saint Joseph’s carried the 2-0 lead into halftime.
Mulvey served a ball into the box for A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Dakota Mills seven minutes into the second half. Mills buried the shot to give the Hawks a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead. But Mason scored twice in a two-minute span, tallying goals in the 74th and 76th minutes to swing the momentum. First Abby Downey put a header into the net on a corner by Emily Littell. An errant header in the box a couple of minutes later turned into an own goal and pulled the Patriots within one.
Dimes responded 93 seconds later, scoring on a cross by Vagnozzi at the other end of the field, restoring the Hawks’ two-goal lead. Mills tallied a late insurance goal, her 18th of the season, for SJU.
George Mason (13-7-1) dominated the end line play, forcing 12 corner kicks to Saint Joseph’s two. The teams were nearly even in shots (15-13 in SJU’s favor) and saves (5-4 in SJU’s favor).
Sunday’s title game will air live on American Sports Network at noon.