Going against the wind in the first half, the top-seeded Lady Cougars (13-7-1) were limited in what they could do as the conditions made it difficult for either team to muster much offense. Then, with just 5:35 remaining before halftime, freshman midfielder Amanda Woods (left) found the back of the net for her first career goal to give MVNU a 1-0 lead that it would take to the break. Sophomore forward Jessica Estep and freshman midfielder Courtney Ricker were each credited with an assist on the play.

The Lady Cougars increased the lead to 2-0 in the 61st minute when sophomore midfielder Jamie Blair scored her third goal of the season. Ricker started the play with a cross to Estep, who one-timed the ball to Blair for the finish.

After assisting on the first two goals, Ricker got into the scoring act herself just over a minute later when she gathered a loose ball in the box of an MVNU corner kick and chipped it over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to extend the lead to 3-0. The goal was Ricker’s fourth of the season.

Then, in the 82nd minute, freshman forward Erin Washington took a pass from freshman midfielder Lindsey Shaffer and found the back of the net for her second goal of the year to close out the scoring in the 4-0 victory.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen posted her seventh shutout and the team’s tenth shutout of the season without having to make a save. Meanwhile, Whitney Shutt stopped eight shots for the No. 4 seed Lady Warriors (10-8-0).

“Today was a pretty unbelievable day from a weather standpoint,” said MVNU coach Jonathan Meade. “It was very cold - it had to be like 26 degrees out there. We’re not too far away from Lake Ontario, so we had a pretty brisk wind out there and thankfully it wasn’t windy the entire match. When the wind would kick up, it was really cold.”

“In the first half, Nyack had a little bit more of the wind as it came across the field at a diagonal,” said Meade. “(Nyack) had the better of the wind in the first half, but we still managed to have some really nice build-ups and put some pressure on them. Our first goal was a really nice combination down the left flank. It was good to go into halftime with the 1-0 lead knowing that we would get the wind in the second half.”

“We talked before the match about the biggest factor being the players’ mental attitude, mental strength, and mental discipline,” said Meade. “I told them that the team that could really put the elements out of their minds the best would be the team that would have the best chance to win the match. We played really well in the second half and I was really proud of the way that everyone contributed to the win.”

With the victory, the Lady Cougars will now advance to the NCCAA East Region Tournament championship match on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. where MVNU will take on No. 2 seed Roberts Wesleyan. The Lady Raiders blanked No. 3 seed Geneva (Pa.) College 4-0 in Friday’s other semifinal match. The winner of the NCCAA East Region Tournament will advance to the NCCAA National Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla. The eight-team event will begin on December 3.