HOBOKEN, NJ – After a 0-0 tie through 110 minutes, the third-seeded Hartwick women's soccer team was topped in a penalty kick shootout by second-seeded Utica, 4-2, knocking the Hawks from the playoffs. The Hawks close out their season with a mark of 9-7-2.
           
All four Pioneers converted their penalties in the shootout, capped off by Emma Workman's clincher. Tanner Reed (Unadilla, NY/Unatego Central) and Samantha Ford (Acton, MA/Acton Boxborough Regional) scored for the Hawks. Zoe Capanna (Los Angeles, CA/Palisades Charter) struck the bar and Gabrielle Kreppein's (Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) effort was saved by UC goalie Allison Wagner.
           
The Hawks would dominate the first half of play as they out-shot the Pioneers by a 10-0 margin. They would put three of their first four shots on target in the opening nine and a half minutes with Madison Miller (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta), Shannon Lauko (Baldwsinville, NY/C.W. Baker), and Alexa DuBois (Hobart, NY/South Kortright) forcing saves from Wagner. Miller had one final chance in the final 30 seconds of the half but her header off a service from the side went wide.
           
Utica came alive in the second half as it generated four shots in the first ten minutes. Gabrielle Esposito had perhaps the Pioneers' best chance as she was played through and in on goal with Hartwick keeper Cassandra Robataille (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam). Robataille dashed off her line to cut down the angle and forced Esposito to put her shot wide of the 'Wick goal. The Pioneers held a slim 6-5 edge in shots in the half but the game went to extra time.
           
Courtney Velho (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) had the best chance for the Hawks in the first extra session. The Pioneers were whistled for a handball 20 yards from goal at the top of the box. Velho took the kick but she hammered her shot just over the bar. Velho produced another chance in the second overtime with another free kick from 30 yards away. She put her low shot in on goal and Wagner spilled it. The Hawks, however, couldn't get a foot on the ball in the ensuing scramble.
             
'Wick finished the game with a 20-7 edge in shots, and a 5-1 advantage in the overtime periods. UC earned six corners to the Hawks' three.
           
The shutout for Hartwick is its ninth of the campaign. Robataille earned her eighth clean sheet of the season with a three-save performance. Wagner would end the match with eight saves for UC.
           
The game marked the final one in the brilliant careers of Miller, Rachel Weir (New Milford, CT/New Milford), Kiley Richardson (Flanders, NJ/Roxbury), and Rachel Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls). They were a part of 42 victories and the program's only Empire 8 championship.