ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- The Cedar Crest College Soccer team's championship run came up short for the second-straight season, falling to Cairn University in the 2019 Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship in Penalty Kicks (PKs) on the FalconPlex Saturday afternoon.
 
"Really tough result today," commented Head Coach Sarah Wolcott. "We worked so incredibly hard and played so well. We had a lot of opportunities and left everything we had on the field."
 
The Falcons conclude the season with a final record of 13-4-2 to end the 2019 campaign, tying the program record for most wins in a season.
 
Cedar Crest and Cairn would play 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, needing Penalty Kicks to decide the winner of the CSAC Championship. The Falcons would double-up the Highlanders in shots, 18-9, with seven shots going on goal for the Black and Yellow and six on target for the Highlanders. Cedar Crest would also earn six corners to Cairn's four.
 
"I'm so proud of each and every one of our players," continued Coach Wolcott. "They gutted out 2 double over time matches in a matter of just a few days."
 
Cairn would choose to shoot first during PKs, where they would jump out to a 1-0 lead, before junior Adrianna Tennis (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) got the Falcons first PK past the Cairn keeper. The next to attempt of the Highlanders went off the crossbar, which left an opening for the Black and Yellow to capitalize on, and they did. Junior Daria Warner (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) would bury her shot to take a lead in the shootout, 2-1. Cairn's next shooter would beat Makely, tying the shootout at 2-2, which would hold after junior Kara Brownlie (Southampton, Pa./Abington Friends School) was unable to convert, keeping the teams tied at 2-2 after three shooters each.
 
The next two Highlanders converted their penalty kicks, followed by senior Kimberly Rosano (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) and sophomore Brittney Dunleavy (Auburn, Pa./Blue Mountain) both beating the Cairn goalkeeper, putting the shootout at 4-4. Cairn would score on their 6th attempt to again take the lead at 5-4. Junior Sarah Nawrocki (Minersville, Pa./Minersville) would be the next Falcon to shoot, and her shot was unfortunately saved, giving the Highlanders the 5-4 victory in the shootout and the CSAC title.
 
Freshman goalkeeper, Lauren Makely (Lake Grove/Sachem North), made six saves in the game, with two crucial saves that kept the game scoreless through 110 minutes. Makely's record mimics the squad, ending the season with a 13-4-2 record.
 
Coach Wolcott concluded with, "I've said it before... soccer is very unforgiving, and if you don't capitalize on your chances anything can happen. I think we deserved this... if we had just a couple more minutes I think the result would have been different, but that's the way the ball rolls sometimes."
 
Cedar Crest's season may not be over, as they await to hear if they will receive a bid to play in the Eastern College Athlete Conference (ECAC) Tournament. Stay tuned to all things Cedar Crest for more information in the next couple of days.