For the second time in program history, the Emory University women's soccer team will play in the Final Four after the Eagles defeated Amherst College, 1-0, Sunday afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa. The previous trip to the national semifinals came in 2012 when Emory advanced to the national championship match.

Awaiting Emory in Las Vegas will be William Smith College, who topped Trinity (TX), 1-0, in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Sunday. Joining the Eagles and Herons in Sin City will be WashU and Christopher Newport on the other side of the draw. The national semifinals will take place on December 6th at Peter Johann Memorial Field on the campus of UNLV.

The Eagles improve to 14-3-4 on the season, the most wins in a campaign since 2018, and will be looking for their first national championship in team history.

Before securing a berth to the Final Four, Emory had to get past the Mammoths of Amherst College (14-2-6) at the Rock Bowl on the campus of Loras College.

The Eagles nearly were in an early hole as Amherst raced up the field following the opening kickoff, putting two shots on frame within the first 25 seconds and drew a penalty kick opportunity.

The Mammoths' Abby Schwartz had the initial shot that was stopped by junior Sophia Garcia, Emory's hero on Saturday. The rebound fell to Brooke Ingemi who had a shot on frame as well but her attempt drilled the arm of junior Michelle Davidson inside the box to award Amherst a penalty.

Patience Kum stepped to the penalty spot and tried to go right but Garcia, who made a crucial save in Saturday's PK win over Loras, was once again nails as she made the diving stop to keep the score 0-0 in the opening minute.

The teams traded several more chances in the first half before the Eagles were able to break through in the 38th minute. Freshman Mikayla Camp used her nice footwork to move around a defender on the endline before finding sophomore Madison Teng in the middle who one-timed a shot to the lower right post for her fourth goal of the season.

The Mammoths almost found the equalizer three minutes later with a shot from 20-yards out from Katie Pederson but another great save from Garcia preserved the 1-0 lead.

Camp nearly added to the Eagles' total before halftime as she tried to take advantage of Amherst's keeper who had fallen out of position. Camp ripped a shot to the left post with the goal empty but her attempt was too far left.

The Eagles ended the half with an 11-9 lead in shots, but the Mammoths owned the edge in shots on goal at 5-2. 

The second half began with freshman Emory Bozzuti almost finding the scoring column in the 48th minute when she fired a shot on the open goal with GK out of position once more but an Amherst defender tracked it down and cleared it for team save.

In the 55th minute, Camp tried once again to find the back of the net as she worked along the endline following a corner kick and had a strike looked like it was destined to go in but the Amherst defense were able to get in front for the block.

One of Amherst's strongest opportunities came in the 72nd minute when Carter Hollingsworth blasted a long-ranging shot from 25 yards out. Her attempt was ticketed for the top right corner but an incredible leaping, one-handed save from Garcia kept the score at 1-0.

From there, the Eagles set up a nine-person blockade and proceeded to play dump and chase with Amherst to limit any further chances. The Mammoths were able to rip four shots in the closing minutes but none were able to cut through the Emory defense.

Garcia finished the match with a career-high eight saves as her stellar work between the posts led the Eagles to their 12th clean sheet of the season.

Please check emoryathletics.com for more updates including game times and championship site information as the week progresses.