Atlantic East Conference Women's Soccer Tournament Final
#3 Cabrini University Cavaliers (14-3-2, 4-1-1 Atlantic East) vs. #1 Marywood University Pacers (9-7, 5-1 Atlantic East)
Saturday, Nov. 9, 4pm
Scranton, PA

Game Day Links: Live Stats, Webcast
Atlantic East Conference Women's Soccer Tournament Central
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What's at Stake?
The winner of Saturday's match will claim the 2019 Atlantic East Conference championship.

The Cavaliers will take aim at their eighth conference championship in the last 10 years when they travel to Scranton, PA for Saturday's tilt, while the Pacers look to defend their title following their AEC tournament run in 2018. This also marks the fourth consecutive year the Pacers will be playing for a conference title. 

How Cabrini Got Here?
The Blue and White boast the league's top offense and defense as they average a conference best 2.3 goals per game and allow a just 0.7 goals per game. Their defensive unit in particular has been dominant this season as they have tallied 11 shutouts in 19 games played, including five in a row. Opponents are averaging just over seven shots and two corners per game against the Cavs. 

After navigating their nonconference slate with a strong 8-2-1 record, the Blue and White started slow in league play following a 0-0 draw against Immaculata and a 2-1 loss at Wesley. Cabrini rebounded with a key 2-0 victory over Marywood, however and closed out their regular season with impressive victories over Gwynedd Mercy and Marymount. 

In total, the Cavs outscored their conference opponents 15-2 and held five of six opponents scoreless. 

Following the regular season, the No. 3 seeded Cavs topped No. 6 Marymount 2-0 in the AEC Quarterfinal to advance to a rematch against No. 2 Wesley in the AEC Semi. The Cavaliers avenged their regular season loss to the Wolverines thanks to a 2-0 victory in which the defense didn't allow a shot. 

How Marywood Got Here?
The Pacers got off to a slow start following a 2-6 record through their first eight games, but turned things around in a big way as they have gone on to win seven of their last eight contests. 

Offensively, Marywood sits at fourth in the conference scoring 1.7 goals per game. Their attack primarily runs through senior Jackie Vonltter who leads the team with six assists, 16 points and 49 shots, while also being tied for the team lead with five goals. Junior Cara Romaniello has been an efficient offensive presence after tallying five goals on just 19 shots. Her four assists and 14 points rank second on her squad. 

Defensively, the Pacers are allowing 1.2 goals per game, the third lowest mark in the AEC behind Wesley (1.1) and Cabrini (0.7). They do boast the conference's best save percentage at .843 thanks in large part to keeper Bella DiToma. The junior has started 15 games for the Pacers and tallied 90 saves. 

After securing the No. 1 seed and a first round bye, Marywood hosted No. 4 Immaculata in the AEC Semifinal. Despite being outshot 23-16, the Pacers claimed a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from freshman Madison Muller and senior Kayla Schmadtke. 

Last Meeting: Cabrini 2, Marywood 0 (10/23/2019, Radnor, PA)
The Cavaliers controlled the action as they tallied 23 shots, their third highest output of the season, while holding the Pacers to 13 shots. The Cavs also posted a 7-2 advantage in corners. 

Senior Marissa Portelli and junior Maria Hagan paced the offensive attack with a pair of goals in the 55th and 75 minute, respectively. Junior Brianna Blair and senior Lindsey Armanini each marked the assist column, while junior Alex Garcés led the team with five shots. 

The Blue and White narrowly missed a goal with just over 30 seconds to play in the first half after Armanini floated a shot over Marywood goalie Bella DiToma, but a Pacer defender redirected the ball in midair for the team save to preserve the 0-0 tie into the break.

Portelli would hand the Cavs the lead in the 55th minute thanks to a long throw in from Blair that landed just outside the six yard box. 

Cabrini would pad their lead 20 minutes later as Hagan headed a perfectly placed corner from Armanini into the top left corner of the net for the 2-0 advantage. The Cavalier back line suffocated the Pacer attack as they limited Marywood to just a pair of shots in the final 15 minutes of play. 

Cabrini Last Time Out: Cabrini 2, Wesley 0 (11/6/2019, Dover, DE)
The Cavalier defense turned in their best effort of the season in tonight's semifinal as they not only tallied a shutout, but held the hosting Wolverines without a shot. It's the fewest shots allowed by the Blue and White since October 10th, 2015 when they allowed just one shot against Rosemont College. 

Offensively, the Cavs attempted seven shots with five landing on frame, while also finishing with a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks. 

Seniors Alex Garces and Marissa Portelli powered the offensive attack with an unassisted goal each, while classmate Katelyn Gilinger recorded a game high two shots. 

The Wolverines matched the Blue and White's defensive effort through the first 45 minutes as they kept the Cavs off the scoreboard and held the league's top offense to just two shots. 

The Cavaliers wasted little time coming out of the half, however as Garces opened the scoring in the 47th minute with an unassisted strike. Portelli would put the game on ice in the 70th minute thanks to an unassisted tally of her own. 

Despite not facing a shot, junior keeper Ashley Tutzauer and the defense earned their 11th shutout of the year and fifth in a row following tonight's final. 

Marywood Last Time Out: Immaculata 1, Marymount 1 (11/5/2019, Immaculata, PA)
In a rematch of last year's inaugural AEC title game that the Pacers won 1-0, and in a repeat of last week's 3-0 win over the Mighty Macs, the Pacers struggled to put anything together offensively in the first half.  Marywood had several good looks that were called back due to offsides, and dodged a bullet when Immaculata hit a direct kick off the crossbar with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half.

Muller's tally came in the final seconds of the opening stanza.  A late corner kick from Vonltter was re-directed by Muller from the near post to the far netting, giving the Pacers a 1-0 lead heading into the break.

Still up 1-0, Marywood needed another goal line clearance, this time from Molly Sobolewski, on a ball that beat DiToma and was heading towards goal for the equalizer.  A recovering Sobolewski made it back in time to clear the ball out of the goal mouth and out of danger.

Needing an insurance goal, Schmadtke took over.  The senior connected on a give-and-go with Becca Dolgas, broke through the Mighty' Mac's defensive line and launched a shot from just inside the 18 that beat Brooke Shissler to make it 2-0 with 10:02 to play. 
 

	TALE OF THE TAPE
No. 3 Cabrini		No. 1 Marywood
14-3-2, 4-1-1 Atlantic East	Record	9-7, 5-1 Atlantic East
2.26	Goals per Game	1.69
27	Assists	16
16.7	Shots Per Game	15.5
158	Shots on Goal	137
164	Fouls	122
148	Corner Kicks	80
50	Saves	102
.794	Save Percentage	.843
	TEAM LEADERS
Diana VanSickle (8)	Goals	Jackie Vonltter, Cara Romaniello (5)
Katelyn Gilinger (8)	Assists	Jackie Vonltter (6)
Katelyn Gilinger (22)	Points	Jackie Vonltter (16)
Alex Garcés (45)	Shots	Jackie Vonltter (49)
Ashley Tutzauer (.800)	Save Percentage	Bella DiToma (.833)