(BALTIMORE) – Saturday afternoon's women's soccer regular season finale between Wilson and Notre Dame had plenty riding on the line as it served as a de facto playoff game for both teams. A win for the Phoenix meant they would advance to the postseason for a fifth consecutive season. A loss or tie would send the Blue and White home and the Gators to the playoffs in their place.

A set piece with 10 minutes left in the first half proved to be the difference maker as Reilly Ryan (Jr., Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) was able to score on a corner kick to give the Phoenix the lead. The goal held up, and as a result, Wilson will head to the United East Championship playoffs as the No. 8 seed.

The Basics

Score: Wilson 1, Notre Dame 0

Venue: The Turf Field Sponsored by the SSND

Records: Wilson 4-13-1, 3-5 UE; Notre Dame 4-10-1, 2-5-1 UE

How It Happened

• Both teams came out of the gates hungry and looking to take an early lead as each tallied a pair of shots in the opening five minutes. Breanna Oliviero (So., Wernersville, Pa. / Conrad Weiser) had the first opportunity for either team and saw her shot saved just 1:53 into the contest. The Gators countered and saw Ava Tippett take a shot that was saved by Madison Ebersole (Jr., Big Pool, Md. / Clear Springs) 97 seconds later. Wilson's pressure eventually resulted in corner kicks with three in the final 15 minutes of the opening half. The second of those saw Claire Thompson (FY, Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) send in a good ball to the far post where it ricocheted off a Gators defender. Ryan happened to be waiting inside the left post and fired it into the back of the net for the lead.
• Notre Dame kept the pressure on in the second half and had nine more cracks at the goal, but thanks to a Teflon Phoenix back line, only one of those found its way on target and was saved by Ebersole to give her four for the day. The Gators also had four corner kicks in the period, three of which were in the last 10 minutes. Wilson stifled all of them and didn't yield a shot on any.

Inside The Numbers

• Ryan's goal was the first of the season and the second of her career. The other goal she scored came in the season opener against Penn State Altoona last year.
• Ebersole recorded back-to-back clean sheets. She now has three for the year and eight in her career.
• Shots favored the Gators by an 18-11 count overall, but shot selection was more balanced as each team had four shots on goal.
• Wilson held a slight 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Up Next
The Phoenix will face a familiar foe in the quarterfinals in top seed Penn State Harrisburg. The Lions eliminated the Phoenix in last year's quarterfinals also played in Middletown. The quarterfinal round will be played on Saturday with a kickoff time to be determined.