TEANECK, N.J. – The Saint Francis women's soccer team was eliminated from the Northeast Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon in the semifinals by top-seeded host Fairleigh Dickinson, 7-4. FDU will face Robert Morris in the championship match on Sunday.

Fairleigh Dickinson (15-5) opened the scoring with two goals in the opening 10 minutes by Rachel Hoekstra. In the 8^th minute, she finished a corner kick from Jessi Reinhardt. In the 10^th minute, she capitalized on a loose ball in the six-yard box after a cross by Nikki Keicher to make it 2-0.

SFU (4-13) quickly cut the lead in half. The Flash had two corner kicks in the first half, and Saint Francis took advantage of the second one. Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac) centered the kick into the box, and freshman Shannon McGinnis (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) deflected it past Felicia Burr to make it 2-1.

Allison LaDuke (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) had a couple of chances to tie the score. Her first chance was stopped by Burr. On the second of those, she blocked a clearing attempt by Burr. LaDuke and Hallie Rexer (Mountain Top, Pa./Holy Redeemer) tried to corral the loose ball, and LaDuke finally was able to settle it down, but her shot sailed high. Fairleigh Dickinson added two insurance goals before the end of the first half. Esther Rochon scored on a cross from Reinhardt in the 39^th minute, and Reinhardt scored unassisted from outside the box to make it 4-1 in the 44^th minute.

FDU scored three more goals in the early part of the second half, but the Flash responded with a penalty kick score from Rexer to make it 7-2 in the 65^th minute. Rexer made it her first career multi-goal game in the 72^nd minute. She took a pretty pass from Brittany Hasson (Leola, Pa./Warwick) on a run-out to beat Burr to make it 7-3.

SFU continued to fight. In the 79^th minute, Paige Butler (Osprey, Fla./Venice) used a free kick from about 35 yards out to blister a shot past a diving Burr that scraped the crossbar on its way in. The goal was Butler's third of the season.

Despite Friday's defeat, the Flash has a strong future after starting four freshmen in Friday's semifinal match. SFU will also return three of its four All-NEC selections.