Inserted into the game in the second half to provide an offensive spark, junior midfielder Katie Hennigan (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) came through in a big way for The University of Scranton women’s soccer team on Saturday.

Hennigan scored with just less than five minutes remaining to lift the Royals to a 1-0 victory over Catholic University in their Landmark Conference semifinal match at Fitzpatrick Field on Saturday morning. The win puts the Royals in Sunday’s championship match against Moravian College at 1 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Field.

Hennigan didn’t see action in the first half of the match, but she entered in the second half an immediately helped the Royals put constant pressure on the Catholic defense. After a brief rest, she came back in late in the period and punctuated her return with her first goal of the season and second of her career at 85:03 when she beat the Cardinals’ goalie one-on-one in the penalty box.

The play was set up by some nifty play by junior forward Samantha Russo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown), who beat a pair of defenders and then slipped a perfect pass to Hennigan, setting her up all alone against the keeper. The assist was Russo’s fourth of the season.

Scranton (8-7-4) controlled the action most of the game, outshooting Catholic, 22-7, including 15-3 in the second half. The Royals also enjoyed a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks.

Freshman goalie Lexi Halperin (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley) made seven saves to keep the Cardinals (6-9-3) in the game.

Scranton junior goalie Kelsy McAnelly (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) made two saves for her 11th shutout of the season, tied for the sixth-most in a single season in Scranton history.

The Royals advance to the Landmark Conference championship for the fourth straight season and will be aiming for their third straight title and fourth in the conference’s six years of existence.

Moravian reached the title game after tying Drew University, 0-0, before winning the shootout, 4-3, to advance to Sunday’s championship. The Royals defeated Moravian, 1-0 in overtime, earlier this season in Bethlehem, Pa.

--ROYALS--

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