DALLAS, Pa. –  Tournament MVP Molly McCann recorded a second-half brace as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team snapped Misericordia's 46-match win streak against MAC Freedom teams, winning their first conference championship since 2019 with a 3-0 win over the Cougars in the MAC Freedom Championship Match on Saturday night.

Stevens, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, became the first team to win a MAC Freedom match (regular season or postseason) against the top-seeded Cougars since another 2-0 win in the 2019 Conference Championship Match. The Ducks had lost four straight Conference Championship matches to the Cougars dating back to 2021.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In the 10^th minute, McCann stole the ball off a successful press against the Misericordia back line. McCann played it off for Sophia Murphy, who turned and found a cutting Malia Chopra. From just outside 20 yards, Chopra fired a skidder with her left foot through the box, knocking it off the inside of the right post and in, the Ducks' first goal in their last four matches against the Cougars dating back to the 2023 Conference Championship Match.

That score held to the half despite five shots on goal between the two sides, Kenny Donley notching a trifecta of saves between the 28^th and 34^th minute, though none requiring extraneous effort.
In the 51^st minute, in nearly a mirror image of Chopra's goal, McCann fired a bouncer from the top of the 18-yard box, tucking one into the sliver of space between the left post and the diving effort of Misericordia keeper Lauren Mondo. Over the next 25+ minutes, Misericordia outshot the Ducks 5-4, but only one shot for each side forced Mondor and Donley into action.

With the Ducks closing in on the win, McCann put the icing on the cake, putting one past a charging Mondor who was attempting to stifle the junior's breakaway opportunity. The Cougars mustered a lone off-target opportunity the rest of the way, as the Ducks claimed their eighth conference championship since 2010.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Stevens became the first team in 11 matches to out-shoot Misericordia (13-11, 8-4 in attempts on goal), and just the third team in 20 matches this season
• In her 38^th collegiate match, Chopra put home her first goal as a Duck
• McCann, who had no goals and just three shots in her first 43 matches midway through the season, scored her 3^rd and 4^th in her last 11 matches, during which time she's taken 20 shots
• Donley posted her fourth clean sheet in her last five matches in which she played all 90 minutes, lowering her season goals-against average to 0.57, raising her save percentage to 0.863, while reaching 10 wins in a season for the first time in her Stevens career

UP NEXT 
The Ducks will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 and will learn their tournament fate during the Selection Show on Monday at 11:00 AM.

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