Westfield’s Emma Pedolski sends No. 3 UMass to A-10 women’s soccer final with game winner

DAYTON, Ohio – Senior Linebacker Emma Pedolskiof Westfield scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute to send the No. 3 UMass women’s soccer team to the Atlantic 10 championship final after beating No. 2 Dayton 2-1 Wednesday night at Baujan Field.

UMass advances to the A-10 Championship for the eighth time in program history and will face No. 1 St. Louis on Sunday, Nov. 10 in St. Louis, Missouri. The match will air on ESPN+ at 1 p.m.

The Minutemen improved to 13-4-2 overall and hold a 6-2-2 mark in the A-10, while the Flyers finished the season with a 14-4-2 overall record and a 7-1-2 record. in group A-10. league

Massachusetts got into the lineup early in the first half as a graduate student forward. Karina Groff scored her third goal of the season. On a free kick, graduate midfielder Ella Curry sent the ball into the penalty area, but Dayton goalkeeper Batul Reda cleared the ball. Groff collected the ball just outside the six-yard box and sent it into the top left corner of the goal to make it 1–0.

The Flyers tied the game at 1-1 in the 43rd minute after an own goal that deflected into the net to end the first half.

In the second half, the tie was broken only in the final minutes, with Pedolzki scoring the winner at the 88:22 mark for her fourth goal of the year. Curry Short passed the corner to the senior midfielder. Bella Recinosbefore Recinos handed the ball back to Curry. Curry then sent the ball in motion in front of the net and a Dayton player tried to clear it. Recinos entered the 18-yard box and kicked the ball in freedom to send it toward the goal as Pedolski fired the ball past goalkeeper Dayton Reda to give the Minutemen a 2-1 lead.

Pedolski, Recinos and graduate striker Grace Pincus registered two shots each, followed by Groff and senior forward Ashley Lamond one shot each. Pedolski, Groff and Pincus all fired shots into the net.

Emma Pedolzki and her twin sister Chandler helped the Westfield Bombers win four straight league championships, a Western Massachusetts title and a state finals appearance. The Pedolzki sisters also play for the New England Mutiny, a semi-professional team based in the Women’s United Soccer League. – Courtesy of UMASS Athletics.