TRUMBULL — Barely holding off an upset-minded Brien McMahon team for most of the first half, St. Joseph needed a momentum swing in a big way.
That turn came 34 minutes into the first, as Jessica Mazo connected with Maddie Fried on a textbook two-on-one chance to break the scoreless tie.
The second-ranked Cadets would go on to defeat No. 7 McMahon 2-0 at home in the FCIAC quarterfinals Thursday.
“For 20 minutes in the first half I really thought they were playing better than us,” said Cadets coach Jack Nogueira, whose team will play the winner of No. 6 Trumbull and No. 3 Ridgefield in the semis on Monday. “Once we scored the first goal I thought we weren’t as nervous and started playing a little bit better. Today we finished our opportunities. They had a couple opportunities they could’ve finished that they didn’t, we found a way to win a game that was very tough for us.”
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