LORETTO, Pa. - With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, senior Toni Smith found the back of the net to break a scoreless tie and the LIU Brooklyn women’s soccer team used a strong defensive effort backed by Tournament MVP Jessica Sexton to down Saint Francis (Pa.), 1-0, and earn their second straight Northeast Conference Tournament title on Sunday afternoon.
 
With the win, the Blackbirds earn the fourth NEC championship in program history and the right to represent the NEC in the upcoming NCAA Tournament on Nov. 9-11. The selection show will be held on Monday, Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
 
After the Red Flash had controlled the pace of play for an extended stretch of the second half, a quick win of a 50-50 ball at midfield gave the Blackbirds possession in SFPA territory.
 
Kunisawa gathered the loose ball and quickly slid a pass to Smith making a run up the left. Smith right-footed a bending shot far post that beat Second Team All-NEC goalkeeper Brianna Butcher to give LIU Brooklyn the go-ahead score.
 
The goal was preceded by a flurry of chances for the Red Flash. NEC Player of the Year Tessa McKibben had a shot from the left side in the 82nd minute that was saved near post by Sexton, and had another a couple of minutes later that went wide. Seconds before the game-winning tally, Sexton again came up big by stopping a slow-rolling attempt from Brittany Hasson.
 
Sexton, a Rochester, N.Y. native that was the 2010 NEC Goalkeeper of the Year, finished the contest with seven saves and earned Tournament MVP honors after posting consecutive shutouts in net.
 
In the first half, LIU’s best chance came in the 38th minute as junior Shino Kunisawa dribbled the ball up the left side and fired a shot that was denied by Saint Francis (Pa.) goalkeeper Brianna Butcher. The Red Flash held a 7-5 edge in shots over the first 45 minutes.
 
In the 56th minute, a left-footed blast from 20 yards by Kunisawa clipped the crossbar and was deflected over by Butcher for a corner kick.
 
The Red Flash had a prime opportunity in the 65th minute as a crossing pass from the left side came near post. The ball kicked around in front of Sexton but was cleared away before an SFPA attacker could get a boot on it.

Following the goal, Saint Francis had one last-gasp effort to knot the contest but a shot from McKibben was blocked and another attempt from Eloa Nascimento went wide. For the match, the Red Flash held a 16-8 advantage in shots and had seven corner kicks to LIU's two.
 
NOTES: The title marks the first time in NEC history that a team has won back-to-back tournament titles without hosting the tournament on its home field... The win extends LIU’s winning streak to six and pushes its unbeaten streak to 10 matches… The Blackbirds, led by seniors Nicole Labo, Lauryn Bretches, Jeanette Dolmetsch, Katie Egan and Angie Young, held McKibben off the scoresheet after McKibben had scored 19 goals and registered 11 assists in 20 matches this year… Smith’s goal was her team-leading seventh of the season... Sexton was joined on the all-tournament team by Egan, Smith and Labo.

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