Fredonia women's soccer claimed the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament with a 2-1 win Saturday over New Paltz at University Stadium.
Alexis Moreland (Newfane, N.Y./Newfane) broke a 1-1 tie with her sixth goal of the season in the 64th minute. The Blue Devils maintained the lead to improve to 5-3-1 in the SUNYAC, 8-7-1 overall. They will play host to Buffalo State -- the No. 6 seed -- in a first-round game at 1 p.m. this Saturday.
Katie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) scored the first Fredonia goal, her seventh of the year. At the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Lindsey Forness (Allegany, N.Y,/Allegany-Limestone) made 10 saves.
Sloane Lipshie (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) scored for New Paltz, which fell to 2-4-2 in the SUNYAC and 8-8-2 overall.
With New Paltz pressing up on offense, the Blue Devils managed a series of counters, one of which led to their first goal. With her sister running full steam up the field, Kristie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) slid a through ball between two Hawk defenders. Katie Kleine ran the ball down in the open field, dribbled twice, and skipped a hard shot past goalkeeper Katelyn Cordero (Airmont, N.Y.). The goal gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
Both goalkeepers made point-blank stops over the next few minutes. Forness blocked a shot from Gabriela Cabello (Hauppauge, N.Y.). A short while later, Cordero stopped a shot by Katie Kleine.
Cordero's save -- one of six she made in the game -- resulted in a momentum swing for New Paltz which culminated in Lipshie's game-tying goal in the 23rd minute, a long strike from the left wing perfectly placed into the far right upper corner of the net. Eleni Anselmi (Garnerville, N.Y.) was credited with an assist.
The Blue Devils overcame a slow start in the second half to retake the lead. A corner kick taken by Ally Tatro (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) led to a scramble in front of the net. Moreland cleaned up the play when she chipped the ball over Cordero's head for what proved to be the game-winning goal. It was Moreland's team-leading third game-winner this season.
Fredonia nearly added to its lead when Maria Gordon (Stephentown, N.Y./Berlin) dropped a pass to Kristie Kleine.and Kleine belted a shot off the center of the cross bar.
NOTES: Katie Kleine's goal was her 22nd as a Blue Devil over four seasons, which moved her into sixth on Fredonia's career goals list. She also is tied for first with 19 career assists and is fourth in all-time points with 63 ... Fredonia closes out its regular season -- and will celebrate Senior Day -- when it plays host to Rochester Institute of Technology at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
