DiGiovanni Penalty Kick Sends Griffins to CACC Semifinals

Lafayette Hill, PA – (11/1/2010) – #2 Chestnut Hill College gained the upper hand early in this afternoon’s Opening Round contest of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship Tournament. Freshman midfielder Carly DiGiovanni (Seaville, NJ) converted a penalty kick at 4:18 to give the Griffins the initial lead and they would add one more tally before the final horn to defeat #7 Dominican College 2-0. The Griffins advance to the Semifinal Round of the CACC Championship which will be held at Georgian Court University on Thursday, November 4. Chestnut Hill College will oppose the #6 Georgian Court University in the 1:30 p.m. contest; the Lions defeated #3 Philadelphia University 4-0 in their opening round contest to advance.

Dominican College (9-8, 6-6) pressured sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Veazey (Middletown, DE) early and often in the first half, out-shooting Chestnut Hill College (14-3-2, 10-1-1) 10-6 in the opening frame. Fortunately, the Griffins were able to draw a foul in the Lady Charger box to set DiGiovanni up for the penalty kick at 4:18. She converted, granting the Griffins the 1-0 advantage despite the Lady Chargers controlling the tempo in the first half.

Following intermission, the Griffins owned the momentum as they launched several attacks at the Lady Charger goal looking to provide some cushion to their narrow lead. At 71:20 it finally paid off, when freshman forward Kaelyn Pizarro (Berlin, NJ) scored on an empty net thanks to a tremendous individual effort, 2-0. A lead pass intended for Pizarro beat her to freshman goalkeeper Kari Spicer (Littleton, CO), but the Lady Charger keeper could not hold on to the wind-blown ball, which Pizarro collected before striking it to the back of the net. With the game in hand, the Griffins controlled play for the remainder of the game clock to claim the 2-0 victory.

Spicer made six saves while taking the loss (8-5) for the Lady Chargers. Sophomore forward Jamilyn Snyder (Lacey, NJ) and senior midfielder Margaret Porter (Neptune, NJ) led the Lady Charger offense with six shots apiece.

Junior forward Lauren Riiff (Clementon, NJ) was held to just one shot, as freshman midfielder Steph Litty (Marlton, NJ) led the Griffins with three shots. Veazey was outstanding, making 11 saves in the win (13-3-2) for Chestnut Hill College.