LORETTO, Pa. – In a rematch of last season's NEC semifinal, Saint Francis U got the better of Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday afternoon with a pair of second-half goals to win 2-0. 

"We have been battling injuries for the last four weeks and to put in the effort forth that we did with the number of injuries that we are dealing, at some point, it was going to catch up us eventually and it did last Sunday and again today," said head coach Eric Teepe afterward. "They were better than us, had more jump than us today. Amanda kept us in the game in the first half and kept the game alive, unfortunately [Fitzgerald's save on the penalty] was not enough of a spark for us today." 

The win moves Saint Francis U (9-11) into Sunday's championship match against Central Connecticut. Fairleigh Dickinson (7-12-1) concludes it season with the loss.

The two sides played the opening 45 minutes without a goal. Saint Francis U did have more opportunities than the Knights and held an 11-2 advantage in shots but only of those Red Flash shots were on goal and Amanda Fitzgerald (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East). Fitzgerald finished the game with seven saves. 

In the 25th minute, the Knights' lone shot on goal came from Stasi Torchia (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary's) and Julia Hernan was there to make the save for the Red Flash.

Late in the first half, the Red Flash had multiple chances but just one got on frame.

Four minutes into the second half Saint Francis U was awarded a penalty kick. NEC Player of the Year, Gabi Morales stepped up to take the kick but was stopped by Fitzgerald as she jumped to her right and knocked the ball away with both hands.

During the next five minutes, the Knights were able to get a pair of shots away but one from Jessi Reinhardt (Freiburg, Germany/Burggymansium) went high and one from Dara Battistoni (Pleasant Valley, N.Y./Arlington) was stopped by Hernan.

The Red Flash scored their first goal in the 64th minute when Abigail Tarosky netted her third of the season. Eleven minutes later Leah Hardin added an insurance tally for Saint Francis U on her fourth of the season.

Fairleigh Dickinson tried to respond in the final 15 minutes but only able to get one official shot, a header by Jackson Bennett (Toronto, Ontario/Humberside Collegiate Institute) in the 86th minute. The Knights had couple other opportunities but were unable to connect on the final pass.