LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The No. 1 seed Monmouth University women used three second-half goals to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit and defeat No. 4 Siena College 3-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinal at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Tuesday.

Monmouth (14-3-2) trailed at halftime 1-0 after Siena (11-8) scored on a ninth-minute header by Madi Belvito. The goal was a result of a corner kick and one of two shots on goal in the game for the Saints.

The Hawks attack found its rhythm in the second half as Lexie Palladino scored the first of her two goals in the 55th minute. The sophomore fired a right-footed shot from 20 yards that went just under the crossbar to tie the game.

Palladino put the Hawks in front a little more than 20 minutes later with her second goal of the day, before Madie Gibson’s header 33 seconds later gave Monmouth an insurance goal for a two-goal lead.

“It was an awesome team win with contributions from every player on our roster,” Monmouth head coach Krissy Turner said. “Lexie Palladino took the game over and helped carry us to the victory. We are excited to play in the MAAC Championship match tomorrow afternoon.”

The Hawks play in the MAAC Championship as they face the winner of No. 2 Manhattan/No. 3 Quinnipiac at noon Wednesday. The game will be played on Field 17 of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and will be broadcast live on WatchESPN.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.