Umw women's soccer ties cnu in c2c final, falls in pk

UMW took control of Sunday's championship game early as the offense came out firing with 14 shots in the first half compared to CNU's four. UMW put up the first 10 shots of the afternoon, with the 10th finding the back of the net in the 20' when Taylor Garofalo was able to find Layla Royster in the box to put UMW up by a goal, 1-0.

In the second half, UMW continued to put offensive pressure on the Captains, taking 10 shots while the Captains had just four in the half. But CNU was able to find the back of the net in the 75' to tie the game and send it into overtime.

During the first OT period, Royster had the best chance for a score, but her attempt was blocked by a defender. In the second overtime, Skye Lawhun put an attempt on net in the 103', but it was saved by the CNU keeper. Emily Box had a similar chance in the 108', but her long attempt was also saved.

After a CNU free kick and attempt that was saved by keeper Emily Orn with just under a minute to play, the Eagles had a chance to score the game-winner with 30 seconds to go as Orn threw the ball to a midfielder where Emma Braxton stood. Braxton then found Layla Royster on the near side, who chipped it to Box near the box on the far side. Box wound up, but her hard attempt was blocked by a CNU defender to send the game into a shootout.

The Eagles made their first and fourth attempts in the shootout, while missing the second and third. On the Captains' side, they made all four of their shootout attempts.

For the afternoon, UMW took charge with 29 shots (12 of which were on goal), while holding CNU to 10 shots (four on goal). The Eagles were awarded eight corners, while the Captains had one.

Mary Washington will wait and see where it's headed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament during Monday's selection show, which airs at 11:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.