TEANECK, N.J. – The Northeast Conference women's soccer championship went to penalty kicks on Sunday afternoon, and the Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer fell to Saint Francis U 3-2 in the penalty-kick shootout. 

Fairleigh Dickinson (9-8-4) and Saint Francis U (10-7-3) played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer before the Red Flash won the NEC Title. Mariana Jaleca, Jessica Keller and Dakota Graham converted from the spot for SFU. Jessi Reinhardt and Viktorija Miseljic converted for the Knights. 

Head coach Eric Teepe said postgame, "I think [SFU] played a great game. The game was a tale of two halves, SFU was better in the first, and we dominated the second half. They dominated the first overtime, and we controlled things in the second."

The Knights were under pressure from the start by the Red Flash and struggled to move the ball into the attacking third of the field. The Knights got away two shots in the opening 45 minutes. Jessi Reinhardt went wide left in the 14th minute, and Elma Kolenovic's effort was blocked at the top of the 18. 

Saint Francis U only had four shots of their own, but the Red Flash had the better of the chances. The first shot for the Red Flash on target came from Siobhan Bross in the 17th minute. Alyssa McGee tested Amanda Fitzgerald with a header that the sophomore stopped later in the first half. 

After the intermission, the Knights controlled this from the onset. Fairleigh Dickinson got 12 shots away. Daria Jones started the attack 43 seconds in with a shot that was stopped by Julia Hernan. The Knights then got four shots—two on goal—over a four-minute span from the 52nd minute to the 56th. All of which could not find the back of the net. 

In the 73rd minute, Kolenovic put a shot in on Hernan on the ground that the SFU goalkeeper controlled. Two minutes later, Sofia Albertsson tried to give the Knights the lead, but the freshman was denied by Hernan also. 

Fairleigh Dickinson also had a pair of chances inside the final eight minutes. Jones had a shot blocked in the 84th and then Hernan denied Dara Battistoni in the 87th. 

In the first overtime, both teams had a single shot. Fitzgerald made a save on Gabby Morales, which came after an Albertsson battled for the ball in the box but pushed the shot wide left. 

Saint Francis U had a chance to win the game in the second overtime. However, Jaleca put a rebound shot off the right post in front an open goal that allowed the game to continue. Fitzgerald stopped the initial shot from McGee. 

Jones had a shot blocked, and Stasi Torchia put one over the net for the two chances Fairleigh Dickinson had in the second overtime before the game going to penalties. 

Teepe added, "[Penalty kicks] do not change the fact that we are champions. Both teams were champions today. We played them twice, and we tied them both times. Unfortunately, at some point, someone has to advance, and someone has to stay home." 

Fitzgerald, Reinhardt and Kristina Neri represented Fairleigh Dickinson on the All-Tournament Team. Morales was named Most Valuable Player.