WATERBURY, Conn. (November 7, 2015) -– It's back-to-back championships for the Philadelphia University women's soccer team.

PhilaU sits atop of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) for the second-straight season after the Rams blanked Caldwell University, 1-0, in the league championship final on Saturday afternoon on Post University's LaMoy Field in Waterbury, Conn.

Philadelphia, which won its third CACC championship in program history, improves to 10-8-2 overall and earns the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament. The field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 9 on NCAA.com(.) It will be the program's second appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The win was also significant for head coach George Dunbar, who recorded his 200^th career victory in his 17 seasons as the Rams' head coach. Dunbar — the first women's soccer coach to record 200 victories at Philadelphia University — now has a record of 200-112-39.

Carla Chmielewski scored the championship-winning goal on a penalty kick to the lower left corner of the net at the 41:55 mark after a foul by Caldwell's Olivia Johnston in the penalty area. The goal is Chmielewski's career and team-high eighth of the season and her seventh game winner. The goal was just one component of Chmielewski's outstanding play throughout the day, as she covered the entire field and made several strong one-on-one defensive plays.

The Cougars (11-9-1) made keeper Courtney Shaw work in the second half to preserve the shutout, her eighth of the season, as they put seven shots at the Philadelphia net, five on goal. Shaw made two outstanding saves in the second half to make the one-goal lead stand up. One in particular came in the closing minutes when she made a diving stab of a strike from inside 20 feet.

Shaw recorded three shutouts in the tournament and was named the championship's most valuable player, while also garnering a spot on the All-Tournament Team. She was joined on the team by Chmielewski, Megan Sullivan, Alex Reyes and McKenna Burns.

After a Jessica LaConde header off a Jessica Garretson corner sailed high with 9:27 left, the Philadelphia defense didn't allow another attempt by Caldwell at its goal.

Shaw finished the match with seven saves, while Caldwell's Mary Kanzler stopped five shots.

Both teams attempted 11 shots and Caldwell owned a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. Caldwell had three student-athletes garner spots on the All-Tournament Team, including Kelly Folk, Emily Valerian and Ashley King.

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.

2015 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Misty Kaiwi (Post University)
Ashley Shackleford (Holy Family University)
Tori Capestro (Georgian Court University)
Morgan Peacock (Georgian Court University)
Marissa Nieves (Felician University)
Carly Brantner (Felician University)
Kelly Folk (Caldwell University)
Emily Valerian (Caldwell University)
Ashley King (Caldwell University)
Courtney Shaw (Philadelphia University)
Carla Chmielewski (Philadelphia University)
McKenna Burns (Philadelphia University)
Megan Sullivan (Philadelphia University)
Alex Reyes (Philadelphia University)
MVP: Courtney Shaw (Philadelphia University)