YONKERS, N.Y. – In order to dethrone a dynasty, one must win a long, arduous battle and that is exactly what the Sarah Lawrence College women's soccer team did to make their own history by winning the Skyline Conference championship over Farmingdale State College on Saturday afternoon.
 
The score may reflect a tie at 0-0 per NCAA policy for matches decided by a penalty kick shootout (unless it is in the national championship) but one team had to advance as the Skyline Conference's automatic NCAA tournament qualifier, so the Gryphons battled through 110 minutes of action for force PKs which they won 4-2.
 
SLC (14-3-3) ended a five-year streak of FSC (10-9-4) winning the Skyline Conference championship. The Rams have had such a stranglehold on winning the conference postseason tournament, as they had won 13 out of the previous 14 tournament titles.
 
The Gryphons remained unblemished this season against Skyline Conference opponents going 10-0-2 with both ties being to Farmingdale State.
 
SLC fans and players can look back on the 1-1 tie at FSC on Tuesday, Oct. 18, when the Gryphons fell behind 1-0 just 1:09 into the contest and had to fight their way back to earn a 1-1 draw and giving themselves all the confidence they needed to know that they could play with the Rams, especially on hostile territory.

"Defense is clearly a key part of my strategy, having conceded only three goals across all conference games played in 2022," Grillo added. "For our games against FSC, we studied their game through video analysis, which allowed us to tailor our defensive strategy to their style of play. I'm very proud of my defensive team's effort, which was led by senior Lainie Cadieux, especially how they translated our strategy into action."    
 
It was within the friendly confines of Fleming Field, however, that the two would meet again after FSC went 1-1-2 in its final four contests, dropping from an almost guaranteed first place seed in the tournament to the three seed and forcing themselves into a play-in match just to get to the semifinals.
 
Neither team could grab control of the match this afternoon with both defense reigning supreme allowing just three shots each in the first half. SLC's Bridgette Lee and FSC's Lindsey Jolly posted a single save each in the first half.
 
The Gryphons were also able to hold FSC's two top goal scorers Alyse Rivera (11) and Emily Zeblinsky (10) to just one shot total the entire match making sure the Rams would have to find someone else to step up and convert, which the SLC faithful were happy didn't come to fruition.
 
Both teams would combine for 30 fouls with SLC being whistled for 19 as well as a total of three yellow cards, which were divvied up including one for Grace Carter in the 55^th minute and another for Viktoria Balbin in the 107^th minute of the second overtime.
 
Before the final whistle was blown on the second 10-minute overtime period, both teams combined for 17 shots, seven shots on goal, seven saves and four corner kicks.

"This is all about the full team effort, including the teammates who were on the sidelines," mentioned Grillo. "Clearly, FSC also did their homework, creating a strong defense against our forwards and front line. This made the final match truly one of game strategy. For our spectators, it probably was a frustrating game to watch. We tried to score, but came up short, with kudos to the FSC goalie."
 
After the coin toss to decide who kicked first in the PK shootout, Lainie Cadieux stepped to the spot first and got Jolly to guess the wrong way while Cadieux firmly planted the ball in the back of the net.
 
Maya Pfeiffer was called upon to take over goalkeeping duties during the shootout and immediately made an impact when she saw something in FSC's True Eggers' approach that made her think she was going to Pfeiffer's lower right corner, and sure enough she did, to which Pfeiffer stonewalled the attempt.
 
Cat Faville gave SLC a 2-0 lead in the shootout by sending her attempt to the lower left of the outstretched arms of Jolly.

Both teams then traded PKs that sailed over the crossbar before Jazzmin Terrell converted her attempt, drawing FSC within a 2-1 tally.
 
Balbin rebutted with a floating attempt with some pace on the ball to give her team a 3-1 lead.
 
Michaela Rapisarda staved off elimination for the Rams momentarily when she converted to make it 3-2 in favor of SLC.
 
Daniela Perez then ended the contest, sending the Gryphons into a frenzy rushing the field and sending the hundreds in attendance, including numerous fellow student-athletes, into a feverish celebration that was many years in the making.
 
The Skyline Conference championship win was the first of its kind for any team sport at Sarah Lawrence College, and comes a year following the school's tennis program's championship and with just three seniors on this season's squad, you can best believe that the Gryphons women's soccer program and head coach Maurizio Grillo will be in the hunt for another title next season.

"It's been a privilege to lead the transformation of the SLC women's soccer program over the last five seasons," mentioned Grillo. "It all starts with a vision - for me, that vision has always been to create an environment where student athletes excel in the classroom and on the field. It's all about a culture that cultivates exceptional performance across all dimensions of their Sarah Lawrence experience. Vision first, but then comes the reality of executing upon that strategy. The support from the Athletic Department, the academic community and my peers create a support system that allows me to recruit with confidence." 
 
Cadieux was honored during the awards ceremony presented by Skyline Conference commissioner Linda Bruno with the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
 
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SLC knows that it will have at least one more contest, but the Gryphons will not know who they will play, where the match will be or what time of day kickoff will be until the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Selection Show that airs on NCAA.com at 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7.

"Now it's time to have fun and learn…period," Grillo added about playing in the NCAA Diviion III tournament. "We had a record shattering season and are confident it's the start of a new era of play for us in the Skyline Conference. We're young, hungry and excited about our future. The NCAA tournament will be an amazing experience and we're honored to represent Sarah Lawrence College and the Skyline Conference."