Box Score 10/31/24
 
WEST CALDWELL, NJ – Lackawanna College women's soccer fought valiantly, but ultimately fell by a 4-2 margin to Ilana Lashley and Essex County College in the Region XIX DII semi-final on Thursday afternoon in New Jersey.
 
The Falcons (2-5-0) fell behind twice in the first half, and both times rallied to tie the score, thanks to a pair of goals from Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA). Essex (5-6-1) scored two goals in the second half, scoring the go-ahead goal in the 61^st minute, then adding a fourth in the 84^th minute to ice the game and come out with the victory. All four of Essex's goals came from Lashley, who spearheaded the offensive attack for the Wolverines.
 
Lashley and Essex scored in just the second minute of the contest with a great individual effort, when she won the ball in the middle of the park, kept possession through tackle attempts, and pushed past the Lackawanna defense to make it 1-0, Essex.
 
Lackawanna found its equalizer through Shumway in the 20^th minute, when she stole the ball back while pressing in the Essex box, then laced a shot that went through the keeper's hands to even the score.
 
In the 29^th, Lashley scored again, this time through another foray into the Lackawanna defense. A turnover near mid field on the left side led to a deflected pass that found Lashley, who sprinted to the right side of the Lackawanna box. With Sophia Mandarano (Dunmore, PA) bearing down on her, Lashley spun on the end line, tip-toed her way towards the goal, and poked a shot past the keeper Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) to make it 2-1, Essex.
 
An injury forced the Falcons to go down to ten players, but Lackawanna responded almost immediately just two minutes later. Shumway was running through the Essex defense when she was run into from behind just outside the box, setting up a free kick in a crucial spot. She calmly stepped to the ball, then looped a shot past the wall and into the bottom of the net to tie things again in the 31^st minute. The score remained at a deadlock into halftime.
 
The numbers game started to catch up with Lackawanna, as Essex held possession through most of the half in the Lackawanna defensive third. The Wolverines eventually found their breakthrough in the 61^st minute, when a great through-ball from midfield found Lashley, who split the Lackawanna defense for the go-ahead score, also giving her a hattrick for the day.
 
Lackawanna had its best chance to even the score, again, in the 80^th minute. Sandra Diaz-Torres (Scranton, PA) fed a ball through to Autumn Frederick (Etters, PA) on the left side, and Frederick took a long shot just outside of the box that got deflected by the keeper behind for a corner kick. The corner was unsuccessful, however, and Essex and Lashley made the Falcons pay just four minutes later, scoring a fourth goal to put the game well out of reach.
 
The win sends Essex to the Region XIX DII title game on Saturday, taking on Mercer County CC at 11:00am ET at Mercer. The loss ends Lackawanna's season. The Falcons finish with a pair of wins, and got eight goals on the year from All-Region XIX First Team selection Shumway.