WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Gannon women's soccer team battled all season, and on Sunday the Golden Knights came oh, so close to a berth in the NCAA Final Four.

Adelphi scored the lone goal of their Elite Eight matchup with 4:35 to go in the game as the Panthers escaped with a 1-0 win in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals on Sunday. Adelphi finally broke through the Gannon defense when Alexis Hellman scored off an assist by Sophia Cataldo at the 85:25 mark.

Adelphi, the East Region champion, improved to 15-3-5 and will advance to the NCAA Final Four on Dec. 7 in Matthews, North Carolina.

Coach Colin Petersen's Gannon team closed its dream season with a 17-5-3 record and with the knowledge that it had gone further than in the postseason than any team in program history. The Knights also walked off the field knowing that they can play with any Division II team in the nation, as they proved during the NCAA Tournament.

Sunday's outcome ended a remarkable Gannon postseason run that included payback wins over Mercyhurst (1-0), Charleston (3-1), and West Chester (1-1, 5-4 on penalty kicks). Mercyhurst was the PSAC West regular-season champion that had beaten Gannon twice. Charleston was top-seeded and unbeaten after beating Gannon during the regular season. West Chester had beaten Gannon in each of the past two PSAC championship games.
 

However, Adelphi was a new opponent for Gannon, and the Panthers played outstanding defense. The loss marked the only time the potent Golden Knights had been shut out all season.

The Panther limited the high-scoring Golden Knights to just five first-half shots. That was remarkable considering Gannon had outshot opponents by an average of 21-7 this season.

Gannon still had an overall edge of 16-10 shots on Sunday, including a 6-5 edge in shots on goal. However, the defense was able to limit GU's chances, and goalie Krista Aliscio stopped the six shots that Gannon did put on goal.

Gannon will return next season knowing that it has served notice around the NCAA Division II landscape that it is a young, talented team with many standouts returning.

Among those are three freshmen who were All-PSAC West selections, forward Brooklyn Respecki (McKean, Pa./General McLane), midfielder Grace Emanuel (Erie, Pa./McDowell), and defender Hannah Shepard (Erie, Pa./McDowell).

Respecki was voted D2CCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year, and Emanuel was voted to the All-Atlantic Region First Team.

Emanuel led Gannon with three shots on goal against Adelphi. Respecki had two shots, including one on goa,l as she faced double teams throughout the day.
 

Shepard showed her defensive abilities throughout the season, including Sunday when she made a spectacular play by using a header to stop an Adelphi shot just in front of the Gannon goal.

Many solid veterans also will be back for Gannon, including All-PSAC West selections Ella Fadale (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) and Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler), among others.

Gannon will lose several key players, including team leader Leah Bermudez (Milton, Ontario/Jean Vanier Catholic), along with fellow defender Gretchen Oslick (Freedom, Pa./Ambridge), and goalie Morgan Sinan (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley).

Despite those losses, it's clear that Division II now knows that Gannon will be a threat in 2024 and beyond.