EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette Women's Soccer team scored twice in the final 10 minutes for a 2-1 victory over Boston University at Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium that lifted the team into the Patriot League Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons.

Colgate had put the Leopards on the postseason bubble an hour earlier with a 1-0 win over Army West Point and the Terriers pushed them even closer to the bring of elimination when they scored the first goal of the game in the 81st minute. Needing a win to qualify for the six-team field, Lafayette struck back with a goal by sophomore Riley Dowd moments later on an assist by Krista Kissell to knot the score at 1-1.

Junior Sophie Saldivar put the hosts on top in the 87th minute when she collected a ball in the ride side of the box and netted her sixth goal, and third game-winner, of the season. The Leopards held on over the final three-plus minutes for their first-ever win against Boston University since the Terriers joined the league in 2013.

"You have to give the players all of the credit," head coach Mick Statham said. "In that second half they had to play well. One of the hardest things to do in sports is to play well when you know you have to. I thought they were absolutely brilliant in the second half, not just the fighting back but I thought they played really great soccer."

 It really was a tale of two halves as the visitors put a lot of pressure on starting goalkeeper Maggie Pohl and the defense in the opening minutes and had the better of the possession through the first 45 minutes. Pohl faced a half-dozen shots in a 12 minute stretch early in the first half with the junior turning away five and the other sailing wide.

Boston University, the preseason favorite in the Patriot League, outshot the Leopards 8-2 in the first half but the teams went into intermission scoreless.

"The communication in the back was key," said Pohl about keeping the Terriers off the board early. "We have Cait (Balmer) back there who is a great leader and keeps me and everyone else calm. It is a team effort, when we all do our jobs and do what we are supposed to do things work out well."

With the wind at their backs, the Leopards came out with a much greater purpose on offense in the second half. Kissell and Sara Oswald each hit a post in addition to good attempts on goal by Saldivar and Abbie Bresnahan. But despite Lafayette recording the first eight shots of the second half, it was the Terriers who found the back of the net first when Shannon Keefe connected off of pass from Julianna Stureman.

Undeterred, the Leopards responded minutes later when Kissell found Dowd for the equalizer, but needing a win to qualify for the postseason the Leopards needed to find another goal in the final minutes of regulation or take their chances in overtime. Saldivar, who had a game-winner in overtime in the season-opener at St. Francis, netted her first in Patriot League action to extend the Leopards season.

"Obviously, it's not just me who made a difference in the game by scoring that goal," Saldivar said. "Everyone worked really hard in the second half and didn't give up when they scored first. That was a really important thing for us."

With the win Lafayette leap-frogged over Bucknell and Colgate into a tie for fourth place with Loyola Maryland in the final Patriot League standings. The Greyhounds earned the fourth seed by virtue of a 2-1 win over the Leopards on October 19 and will host the Leopards in a quarterfinal game at the Ridley Athletic Complex at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Prior to the game, the Lafayette community took time to honor five seniors (Balmer, Bresnahan, Alexa Buffa, Alli Munro and Mason Worthington) who were playing their final match at Oaks Stadium. The group will be making their third appearance in the Patriot League Tournament  and will be looking to join the 2016 squad by posting a win in the postseason.