BROOKLINE, Mass. - Sophomore midfielder Erin Pardini scored at the 7:21 mark of the first overtime session to lift third-seeded UNC Wilmington to a 2-1 victory over second-seeded Hofstra in semifinal action Friday at the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Women's Soccer Championship at Parsons Field.

The Seahawks improved to 12-7-1 on season as they picked up their fourth straight victory. The Pride, meanwhile, dropped to 10-6-3 overall. UNCW will make its first championship game appearance as it will square off fourth-seeded James Madison, who posted a 3-1 victory over top-seeded Northeastern in the second semifinal match, at 1 p.m. Sunday. 

The winner of the 2009 CAA Women's Soccer Championship will receive the league's automatic berth to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

"Today's victory was a great team effort," said UNCW Head Coach Paul Cairney. "We defended well for long periods of time as our defenders and our goalkeeper did a fantastic job of keep them from taking over the game. Hofstra is a quality team. We knew that it would take an outstanding goal to beat them and Erin's game-winner was just that."

Pardini scored the game-winning goal on an outstanding individual effort that saw her beat a defender along the left side and take a couple of dribbles down towards the left endline before launching a 20-yard shot that went over the head of Hofstra junior keeper Krysten Farriella and land just inside the right post. The goal was Pardini's second of the year and the second in as many contests for the Smithtown, N.Y. native. The shot was also the Seahawks first shot attempt since midway through the second half.  

 Earlier in the contest, UNCW jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 16:22 mark of the contest as junior midfielder Megan Novak and freshman forward Stephanie Rose teamed up to find sophomore forward Meagan Simeone, who unleashed a 25-yard shot from the middle of the field that beat Farriella to the lower right corner of the goal for her third tally of the season.

Sophomore forward Laura Greene drew the Pride level at 1-all in the 28th minute with her third goal of the season as she fired a shot from 10 yards out that UNCW freshman keeper Caitlin Hunter was able to get a piece of, but was unable to keep out of the net. Freshman Danielle Murino was credited with an assist on the play.  

Hofstra almost took the lead just before halftime as a 20-yard shot from Murino in the 44th minute found the crossbar. The Pride also had a couple of quality chances in the second half as Hunter made a diving save on a 20-yard shot by junior forward Tarik in the 72nd minute and later deflected a 25-yard shot from Tarik into the air before corralling the loose ball to end the threat.  

The Pride held a 21-9 shot advantage in the contest, highlighted by an 11-4 edge in the second half, but was only able to beat Hunter once as she made eight saves between the pipes for the Seahawks. Farriella was credited with three stops for Hofstra.