MOONTOWNSHIP, PA (November 9, 2003) - The 2003 Northeast Conference Championship came down to a penalty shootout between the #1 seeded Central Connecticut Blue Devils and the #2 Sacred Heart Pioneers with CCSU coming away with a 6-5 win and the title. For Central it is their second-straight conference championship and the second-straight time they have eliminated SHU from postseason play.

Both teams battled all afternoon with the score tied at 0-0 at the end of regulation. The score would remain the same through both overtime sessions to move the match into the penalty shot shootout to break the tie. The shootout tiebreaker format allows each team five-penalty kicks from five different players. If the teams remained tied, each team will alternate one penalty kick until a winner can be determined. Central Connecticut State's Emma Wright, Erica Leno and Denise Thomas all made their shots and Sacred Heart's Nathalie Urbas (Pickering, Ontario), Christel Kalweit (West Barnstable, MA) and Paula Pineda (Vigo, Spain) finished theirs to send the shoot out into sudden death.

Sophie Hopper of Central Connecticut State calmly placed her shot into the lower left corner of the goal, while Jasmine Urbas (Pickering Ontario) of Sacred Heart placed a shot in the lower right corner. CCSU's Tara O'Brien and SHU's Colleen Bardelli (Selkirk, NY) both made their respective shots. Junior Lisa Harvey (Gales Ferry, CT) fired on goal but Blue Devil keeper Sabrina Mariani came up with her biggest save of the year to send the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

The Blue Devils out shot the Pioneers, 10-9 in the game and had a distinct advantage in the first half of play, 6-2. Sacred Heart got their share of offensive chances in the second half, putting four shots on goal to Central's two. The Pioneers had three shots in the overtime sessions while CCSU manage two. SHU's Kalweit recorded a game-high five shots.

Both goalkeepers were forced to make five saves on the afternoon. Sacred Heart senior Leslie Konsig (Millburn, NJ) recorded three of her five saves in the first half of play. Central's Mariani needed to make two of her five saves in overtime to help preserve the tie.

The game is officially a tie in the record books as Sacred Heart ends the year with a 10-5-4 overall record.

The 64-team Division I Women's Soccer Championship bracket will be announced on ESPNews on Monday, November 10 at approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.

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