Weekend College Tournament Updates: UCLA, UNC, Portland, Notre Dame through to Sweet 16; UConn wins Men's Big East; BC wins ACC

by TDS 11/15/2007

Here we will post details of both the Women's NCAA Tournament, 1st and 2nd round matches, and the Men's Conference Tournaments. Scroll down for new updates through the weekend.

Reports are courtesy of the respective athletic departments.

The bracket for the Women's Tournament, including updated results and matchups can be seen HERE

Men's and Women's College Standings and updated Men's results by conference are available HERE


Sunday
Women's Tournament: Penn State vs. Hofstra postponed due to snow
Penn State vs Hofstra Women's 2nd Round match has been postponed due to bad weather in State College.

UCLA wins 4-0
The top-seeded UCLA women's soccer team booked a spot in the NCAA round of 16 for the ninth straight season on Sunday, as the Bruins cruised to a 4-0 victory over Oklahoma State in a second round match at Drake Stadium. Next up for UCLA (18-1-2) is a meeting with fourth-seeded Virginia (13-3-6) at Drake Stadium on Friday, Nov. 23 at 6:00 p.m. The Cavaliers advanced following a 1-0 victory over William & Mary on Sunday.

UCLA, which won its 33rd straight home match on Sunday, moved out to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute on Lauren Cheney?s team-leading 21st goal of the season. She and Christina DiMartino hooked up for a nifty give-and-go on the right side before Cheney buried a close-range shot into the top of the net.

The game remained scoreless for the rest of the half, however the Bruins struck again just 54 seconds after the intermission. Junior McCall Zerboni crossed a ball in from the left side that found the feet of Cheney, who then slid it across the top of the box to Danesha Adams. Adams took a touch before blasting in a right-footed shot into the top-right corner to give UCLA a 2-0 lead.

"That's a back-breaker to score that second goal so early because it makes it an upfield battle for the opponent," said UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis. "We have a tendency to get an early goal and just sit back a little bit. We talked about it at halftime and the team responded and did well."

Sophomore Kristina Larsen got in on the scoring in the 65th minute, as she spun around at the top of the box and curled in a low-rolling ball past a diving OSU goalkeeper Erin Stigler. It marked Larsen's fourth goal of the season and second of the weekend as she also scored in the Bruins' 3-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the first round on Friday.

UCLA scored its final goal of the match at the 69:36 mark, as the Bruins were awarded a penalty kick when Larsen was brought down in the OSU box. Adams converted the kick, her 13th goal of the season.


Southern Cal edges Missouri
The eighth-ranked USC Trojans (16-3-2) defeated the 23rd-ranked Missouri Tigers (13-8-1), 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA Championship Sunday in Columbia, Mo. The Trojans will advance to the third round to play Florida, who tied Central Florida and advanced on penalty kicks Sunday. The USC win ties the Trojans record for wins in a season at 16. The win also gives USC its first ever Sweet 16 appearance in school history.

USC scored the game-winning goal on a header from less than five yards out by midfielder Ashley Nick with 5:12 remaining in the second overtime period. USC midfielder Megan Ohai tallied the assist off a throw-in.

Krzysik winner lifts Virginia Women
Nikki Krzysik (Clifton, Va.) scored with 14 seconds remaining to give Virginia a 1-0 victory over William & Mary in a NCAA second round match Sunday at Klöckner Stadium. The win propels the Cavaliers into the round of 16 for the third consecutive season where they will meet either UCLA or Oklahoma State.

“It is hard that there had to be a winner and a loser in this game,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “I have tremendous respect for the William & Mary program and John Daly is a legend in our sport. Their players fought hard and we have been on the other side of these outcomes before. On the other side, I am so proud of our team. We had a shaky start but gained momentum as the game went along. How fitting was it that it was our two center backs were involved in the game-winning goal? As (W&M) put more numbers behind the ball in the second half we were able to put more pressure on them and create some chances. As well as we played in the second half, I thought we would find a way to get one. I just didn’t think it would take as long as it did. At least we were able to get it in regulation.”

The teams played to a scoreless first half with each side posting six shots. Both teams had quality chances to breakthrough before the break only to be denied by the keepers. In the second half, Virginia increased its pressure and had the better of play, outshooting the Tribe 15-3. The Cavaliers scored the only goal of the game with 14 seconds to play. A corner kick was played over the box to the far side where Sarah Curtis (Yellow Springs, Ohio) tracked it down. Curtis played the ball to Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.) at the top of the 18-yard box. Sauerbrunn took a touch and fired a shot towards goal that Krzysik, standing inside the 6-yard box, flicked with her head past the keeper and into the net for her fourth goal of the season.

“It was a close game where we were better in the first half and they were better in the second,” said William & Mary head coach John Daly. “Our team played with so much heart and effort and to lose it in the final seconds is cruel. Virginia is a talented team, but we had a chance to win the game and that’s all I can ask of our kids.”

Women's Tournament: Tar Heels through to Sweet 16
North Carolina¹s women¹s soccer team built a 3-0 lead
in the first 61 minutes of the game and went on to beat local rival UNC Greensboro 3-1 in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Women¹s Soccer Tournament at Fetzer Field Sunday afternoon. A sun-baked crowd of 1,207 on an unseasonably warm November afternoon watched as Nikki Washington and Casey Nogueira each scored a goal and assisted on a goal as Carolina improved to 19-3-1 on the season.

UNC advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the 26th successive year and will host 2006 NCAA Tournament finalist Notre Dame next Saturday at 12 noon at Fetzer Field.

UNC Greensboro finished 16-5-1 on the campaign. The Spartans had advanced by beating Memphis Friday night in the first round 1-0 while Carolina advanced with a 6-1 win over High Point Friday night.

The Tar Heels outshot the Spartans 29-5 on the afternoon but a brilliant performance by UNC Greensboro goalkeeper Katherine Ryan kept UNCG in the game until the final whistle. Ryan finished with a career high 11 saves.

UNC opened the scoring at 16:40 on Whitney Engen¹s sixth goal of the season and her third goal in Carolina¹s first two NCAA Tournament games. Casey Nogueira took a shot in the box that was blocked by the Spartans¹ defense and Engen pounced on the ball and finished into the lower left corner on the rebound.

The Tar Heels came out in the second half with increased intensity, forcing Ryan to make several spectacular saves to keep the Spartans into the game. But the speedy Nikki Washington made the play that gave Carolina some distance. She stole the ball at midfielder, carried it into the box and then slotted the ball into the lower left for a 2-0 lead at 54:44.

Less than six minutes later the Tar Heels increased their lead to 3-0 on Nogueira¹s team-leading 13th goal of the season. Washington sent a long ball from just inside the midfield strip on the right side and Nogueira seemingly came out of nowhere to touch the ball over Ryan into the open net.

UNC Greensboro did not go away, however, and scored at 74:04 as Katelynn Donovan sent a free kick past the Tar Heel defense and Karla Davis was unmarked in the box and finished the scoring chance for the Spartans. In 10 career meetings, Carolina is now 10-0 against the Spartans. The goal by Davis was their second in the series, the first since 1989.

Florida State advances
For the third consecutive year, Florida State will advance into the Round of 16 thanks to a 4-0 victory over LSU in second round action of the NCAA Tournament Sunday afternoon at the Seminole Soccer Complex. FSU got a goal from Holly Peltzer in the 21st minute and then added three second half goals in a span of eight minutes as the Seminoles remained perfect at home pushing their record to 12-0-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

Peltzer scored her third goal of the season and second career game-winner at 20:24 in the first half. The Lake Mary, Fla. native received a cross from freshman Marissa Kazbour at the top of the box, took a dribble to her right and fired a shot into the lower left corner to give the Seminoles an early 1-0 lead. The assist from Kazbour was her second in as many games and fifth of the season.

“It was definitely important,” said Peltzer on getting on the board first. “We had a good build-up in the back and Kaz (Marissa Kazbour) saw an opening and I was wide opened so she gave the ball to me and I just finished it. I think it just helped our momentum, we were just trying and trying and we finally got one.”

The Seminoles had their scoring opportunities in the first half but couldn’t seem to find the back of the net until Peltzer’s goal in the 21st minute. Freshman Sanna Talonen, who led all players with eight shots on the afternoon, saw her first shot off a header go off the left post just four minutes into the game. Amanda DaCosta had a great look from inside 12 yards, but Tiger goalkeeper Valerie Vogler made a tremendous diving save. Kirsten van de Ven one-timed the rebound into the back of the net, but the goal was negated on an offside call. The near misses continued as Mami Yamaguchi nailed a header off the crossbar.

LSU got a great scoring chance in the 16th minute as Malorie Rutledge played a long ball down the middle of the field. FSU’s Erika Sutton and LSU’s Roslyn Jones were battling for possession before Jones was able to get a quick kick on goal. Erin McNulty was there with diving safe to keep the Tigers off the scoreboard.

In the second half, Florida State once again controlled the offensive momentum out shooting LSU 13-5. The Seminoles added to their lead in the 67th minute on the first of two goals by van de Ven. The senior from Holland sent a low liner into the left corner of the net to push FSU’s lead to 2-0. The play began as Talonen played a ball into the box where a Tiger defender headed the ball of the zone. Van de Ven gathered the ball and scored on the play for her sixth goal of the season.

Van de Ven would strike again in the 74th minute scoring on a play similar to her first goal of the afternoon. Yamaguchi started the play at the top of the box leaving the ball for freshman Rachel Lim. Lim fed a wide open van de Ven from 22 yards out, who one-timed a shot into the lower left corner to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Seminoles.

Just a minute and nine seconds later, Yamaguchi gave Florida State its fourth and final goal of the afternoon taking a pass from Katrin Schmidt and finding the back of the net on a cross from 12 yards out. The goal was Yamaguchi’s team-leading 22nd of the season.

The three goals were the most scored in the second half by the Seminoles since netting four against Dartmouth in the first round back in 2003.

The Seminole defensive unit of Libby Gianeskis, Becky Edwards, Sutton and Schmidt once again had another outstanding performance limiting the Tigers to just 10 shots and one shot on goal. The shutout by Florida State was its 11th of the season and ninth all-time in NCAA Tournament play. McNulty earned her 15th win of the season and picked up her seventh shutout as she was credited with a save.

West Virginia Women beat James Madison
Senior Ashley Banks and junior Deana Everrett scored second half goals to lead No. 4-seed West Virginia (17-4-2) past James Madison (17-5-1), 2-0, Sunday afternoon in NCAA second round action at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The Mountaineers advance to the NCAA Championship third round (round of 16) for the second time in school history.

After a dominant, yet scoreless, first half by the Mountaineer offense, West Virginia finally found the back of the net in the game’s 76th minute. Banks, the co-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, bent a corner kick off the far post for her team-leading 15th goal of the season.

West Virginia kept the pressure on and scored 28 seconds later to go up 2-0. Sophomore midfielder Carolyn Blank sent a ball just inside the box to Everrett who beat JMU goalkeeper Stephanie Poucher on the ground, just inside the far post. The goal was the 10th of the season for Everrett and Blank finished with five shots.

“I have to give James Madison credit. They definitely changed their formation and changed the way they had been playing all year long to try to eliminate some of our strengths,” said Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “We needed some time to make adjustments but I thought the girls really came out in the second half and took it to them.”

Women's Tourney: Portland beats Colorado 1-0
The Portland Pilots women’s soccer team took care of business on the road to open the 2007 NCAA playoffs. The No. 2 seed Pilots knocked off host Colorado, 1-0, on Sunday at Prentup Field and advanced to a third round match next weekend. Freshman forward Sophie Schmidt provided the game-winner early in the second half.

Portland (17-3-0) moves on and is expected host third-seeded Tennessee (15-4-2), a 1-0 winner over Clemson. The match is expected to be played on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at Merlo Field, pending confirmation from the NCAA Soccer Committee. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 11 a.m. and only be available through Ticketmaster (503-224-4400, www.ticketmaster.com, or at any Ticketmaster outlet). The game will also be televised live on Comcast SportsNet (Channel 37).

Schmidt now has three goals in her first two playoff matches, while sophomore forward Michelle Enyeart notched her 15th assist this year.

Portland again dominated possession and the stat sheet with a 16-2 edge in shots and 7-0 margin in shots on goal. Colorado (10-8-4) made anything but easy in the first half, shutting down the Pilots attack time and again.

Schmidt finally broke through in the 61st minute, taking a cross from Enyeart and beating Colorado goalkeeper Kara Linder to the right side. Schmidt now has seven goals, while Enyeart moved into sole possession of second place on the UP single-season assists chart. She is one shy of the school record held by Shannon MacMillan.

The Pilots have now won 10 consecutive matches, nine by way of shutout. The shutout streak is at eight games, while Portland has outscored opponents 30-1 during the winning streak.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Davis picked up her eighth shutout on the season. Linder recorded six saves between the pipes for Colorado.

Notre Dame Women defeat Illinois
The Illinois soccer team suffered a 2-0 defeat to Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field, ending the Illini’s 2007 season. The Orange and Blue finish the season with a record of 12-7-2, marking the fifth straight season Illinois has collected at least 12 wins. With the win, regional four seed Notre Dame advances to the Round of 16 to face defending champion North Carolina.

“You have to play in away that winning doesn’t matter, but also in a way that you leave everything out there,” head coach Janet Rayfield said. “I thought we left everything out there today.”

Notre Dame (17-4-2) attacked early but Illinois’ defense held steady thanks to a pair of impressive saves by senior goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens. The first stop came at the 3:29 mark when Irish forward Michele Weissenhofer drew Carstens to the left side of the box. Weissenhofer fired a shot as Carstens came out from between the posts, but the West Chester, Ohio, native made a diving stop to prevent Notre Dame from the early score.

Carstens made another crucial stop in the 16th minute as Irish forward Kerri Hanks drove into the six. Carstens pounced on the ball as Hanks took a shot, deflecting the ball to junior defender Emily Zurrer to clear the box.

Notre Dame got on the board at 26:34 on a second-chance goal. After the Illinois defense blocked a shot from the top of the box by Irish forward Amanda Cinalli, Weissenhofer took the rebound and drilled it into the net past a diving Carstens to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.

The Illini nearly tied the game in the 42nd minute when senior forward Ella Masar sent a corner kick into the box. Sophomore midfielder Jackie Santacaterina got a head on the ball, but Irish keeper Lauren Karas dove to her right, narrowly making the stop.

Notre Dame went up 2-0 at 43:32 as the ball took an unfortunate bounce off Zurrer and rolled past Carstens into Illinois’ own goal. Hanks had dribbled down the right side before centering a pass in front of the goal, but with no Irish attacker nearby, the ball deflected into the net to give Notre Dame a two-goal advantage at halftime.


Boston College wins
Junior midfielder Mike Konicoff assisted on Sherron Manswell's first-half goal then netted the
gamewinner just after halftime to lead sixth-ranked Boston College to the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference
Tournament title with a 2-1 victory over No. 1 Wake Forest in the championship game before 2,039 fans at the SAS Soccer Complex on Sunday evening.
BC, the conference's regular-season champion, defeated Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest in tournament play en route to the championship.

Manswell, who earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player honor, got the top-seeded Eagles on the scoreboard just eight minutes into the game, beating Wake Forest goalkeeper Brian Edwards in a one-on-one situation for his third goal of the tournament. Konicoff and junior midfielder Alejandro Bedoya assisted on the score.
Konicoff later doubled the BC margin at 46:49, one-timing a cross from Greg O'Neil for his fourth goal of the season.
Freshman midfielder Karl Reddick assisted on the goal.

Wake Forest's Austin da Luz halved the BC lead off a corner kick in the 68th minute, heading the ball past BC junior Chris Brown, who totaled four saves, including three in the game's final 45 minutes.
The Demon Deacons outshot the Eagles, 3-2, in the first half and 12-1 in the second.
Edwards did not record a save in the losing effort. Wake Forest falls to 17-2-2.

Men's Big East Final: UConn defeats Notre Dame 2-0
Connecticut used two goals from Dori Arad to capture a 2-0 win over Notre Dame in the title game of the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon at Morrone Stadium.

Connecticut jumped ahead in the eighth minute as a corner kick from Akeem Priestley was headed in by Arad. The Huskies nearly made it 2-0 with 26:30 left in the first half when a Toni Stahl blast banged off the crossbar before being cleared out by the Irish defense.

UConn did gain a two-goal advantage in the 18th minute as Arad scored off another corner kick. That kick was sent into the box my Mike Pezza. The Irish thwarted a Husky threat in the 25th minute as senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) leaped to punch out a header on goal.

"Set pieces win big games," stated Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. "That was very true today. Give full marks to Connecticut because they executed those pieces. From our point of view that changed the game and we had to chase them after that. I felt if we got a goal we could have made a run at it."

Notre Dame's first good look of the half came with 15:14 remaining as Ryan Miller (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) sent a header just wide of the net. The Fighting Irish continued to produce offensive pressure late into the first half.

The Huskies needed two saves from goalkeeper Josh Ford to preserve the 2-0 lead heading into the intermission. The first Irish attempt came from Jeb Brovsky (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain), who collected a pop up and sent a shot on goal that Ford dove to his left to save. In the 39th minute, Justin Morrow (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) sent a shot on frame that Ford corralled in.

In the second half, Andrew Quinn (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatha) replaced Cahill in goal for the Fighting Irish. The junior was tested early as Connecticut's O'Brian White worked his way into the box in the opening minutes but Quinn made the stop.

The Irish nearly capitalized on their own corner kick in the 56th minute as Kurt Martin (McAllen, Texas/Memorial) put a head on the ball, yet Ford was right there to make the save.

Quinn notched two saves in the 75th minute to keep the Irish in the contest. The first occurred on a breakaway by Chukwudi Chijindu that he came out to save. White then put a shot on goal that Quinn blocked away. The Irish appeared to score a goal late in the match, yet it was called off due to a foul committed on Ford.

Bradley defeat Creighton Men in Missouri Valley Final
Stephen Brust’s goal in the 89th minute helped lead Bradley past the seventh-ranked Creighton men’s soccer team 1-0 in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship match Sunday afternoon at Morrison Stadium. The loss ends Creighton’s 11-match unbeaten streak and gives the Braves the MVC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and their first ever Valley tournament title. The Bluejays will await their NCAA Tournament placement when the field of 48 is announced Monday afternoon.

Brust scored the only goal of the match at 88:34 after the Braves (14-5-3) were awarded a free kick on the near side. Rudy Garcia sent a crossing pass into the far side of the box where an unmarked Brust was able to knock the ball into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

While the Bluejays (11-2-5) out-shot the Braves 19-11, the match was played at an even and awkward pace for both sides. Junior Andrei Gotsmanov topped the team with five shots for the Bluejays, including two on goal. Tucker Sindlinger had an opportunity to put the Jays on the board early in the second half, but his only shot on goal of the match was stopped by BU’s Mike Haynes.


Atlantic 10 Final: UMass defeats Charlotte
Thanks to a 2-0 shutout win over Charlotte on Sunday, the UMass men's soccer team won the 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Tournament and will advance to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Prince Ofosu tallied a second half goal for UMass (13-7-1) who received help from the 49ers after a first half own-goal. Keeper Zack Simmons earned his ninth shutout of the season and the 23rd of his career.

The NCAA Tournament will begin next Friday and Saturday with first round games and campus sites. The Field will be announced on Monday, November 19 on ESPNews between 5:30 and 6 p.m. Eastern time. In addition, the bracket will be posted on www.ncaasports.com after the conclusion of the selection show.

This was UMass' second Atlantic 10 Conference Title and second berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen last accomplished both in 2001 after getting past Richmond on penalty kicks at the A-10 Tournament which was also hosted at Dayton.

Zack Simmons and Kenny Cook were named to the All-Tournament Team and Simmons was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer.

UMass took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute Charlotte mis-played a clear out of their goal box. The clear deflected off the back of a 49er defender and went into the goal past keeper David Martin. The Minutemen made the lead stand going into halftime.

In the second half, Ofosu scored in the 75th minute for the insurance goal.

Both teams finished with eight shots each. The Minutemen had a slight edge in corner kicks, 3-to-2.

Simmons finished the game with five saves giving him the UMass school record for career stops with 278. Martin made three saves on the day.

Patriot Final: Colgate beats Lafayette
The Colgate University men's soccer team is the 2007 Patriot League Champion, after a 1-0 win over Lafayette College on Sunday, Nov. 18 at Linda Johnson Smith Stadium.

The is Colgate's third time winning the Patriot League Championship. The last time the Raiders won the title was 1997.

Junior defender Glenn Volk (Lexington, Ky.) scored his first career goal at 14:24 and it was all that the Raiders needed to secure the win. Sophomore Chris Koontz (Miller Place, N.Y.) took a free kick from 30 yards out on the far side and lofted the ball into the box where Volk tried to sneak it in past Nelson. Finding his path blocked he skirted the ball to the far post and then sniped it in past Philip Nelson.


Southern Conference Final: Furman beats UNCG
Haris Cekic scored in the 99th minute to lift
22nd-ranked Furman to its 11th Southern Conference Tournament title with a 1-0 victory over host UNC Greensboro at UNCG Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Shea Salinas lofted a pass to Cekic in the box and the freshman popped a shot over charging Spartan goalkeeper Chad Janda that trickled into an empty net for the game-winner at 98:24.

Furman improves to 18-3-0 on the season and claims the SoCon's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Tournament. UNC Greensboro concludes its season at 11-8-2. Furman will find out its first round opponent and wether it will host or hit the road during the NCAA Men's Soccer Selection Show Monday between 5:30-6:00 p.m. on ESPNews.

"This is a tremendous win for our program and a credit to the efforts and leadership of our senior class," said Paladin head coach Doug Allison.

"Bryan Amos and our back line did an outstanding job all weekend long and we were able to break through in the end."



Saturday
Texas Women beat A&M 3-2
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The sixth-ranked Texas Soccer team (15-3-5) snapped second-seeded and nationally-ranked No. 2 Texas A&M’s 20-match, home win streak, with a 3-2 victory in the second round of the NCAA Soccer Championship. Senior Kelsey Carpenter netted the game-winner while fellow senior Caitlin Kennedy and freshman Erica Campanelli added goals.

The Longhorns (16-3-5) have bested the Aggies (18-4-2) four of the last five meetings with all coming under current head coach Chris Petrucelli. The last win was a 2-1 victory in the Big 12 Soccer championship match on Sunday, Nov. 11 at Blossom Soccer Complex in San Antonio.

Texas advances to play the winner of tomorrow’s (Nov. 18) second round contest between Louisiana State and Florida State. The Seminoles-Tigers game is scheduled for noon CST at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee, Fla.

The game started with a 50-minute inclement weather delay because of pending hail and thunderstorms in the area.

Once the match began, the Aggies wasted no time in shooting, posting 10 shots in the first half compared to four by Texas.

The lone score of the first half came on a Texas “own” goal. In trying to stop the NCAA’s leading goal-scorer Ashlee Pistorius, junior defender Kasey Moore (Mission Viejo, Calif.) attempted to clear a cross from the senior striker. In trying to head the ball away from junior goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger (Sugar Land, Texas), the ball bounced over Pfenninger’s head and into the net for an own goal.

With A&M holding a slight advantage on the scoreboard, Texas fought hard in the second half, scoring all three goals in the final 45 minutes.

Carpenter (Allen, Texas), who scored the game-winner, started the play that led to the first goal of the game by freshman defender Erica Campanelli (Plano, Texas). Carpenter beat TAMU sophomore defender Nicole Ketchum to set up a one-on-one with TAM sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Arnold right in front of the goal. Ketchum came from behind to knock the ball out of bounds and set up a Texas corner. Junior midfielder Courtney Gaines (Sugar Land, Texas) took the corner, placing the ball inside the six-yard box. Campanelli headed it in from the center right side of the nets in 54th minute for her first career goal.

Kennedy (Euless, Texas) put UT ahead with the second Horns’ goal of game, placing a shot from 35-yards out into the nets in the 72nd minute. Kennedy played the ball off a well-defended throw-in, settling before firing over Arnold.


NSCAA All-American Carpenter added an insurance goal with her 10th goal of the season. While it put Texas ahead 3-1, the score became the game-winner as Texas A&M senior defender Sara Albrecht netted the fifth and final goal of the match, bringing the game within one.


With the game-winner, Carpenter shares first place (13 GWGs) in UT’s record books with Kelly McDonald (2001-04) and Kelly Wilson (2001-04).


UT junior goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger (Sugar Land, Texas) was peppered with TAMU shots, including 13 of 23 overall shots in the second half. Texas’ career leader in goalkeeper wins (41) totaled seven saves in 90 minutes of action.

Her counterpart, Arnold (Centennial, Colo.), faced her fair share of attempts, registering seven saves.

With 12 minutes remaining on the clock before the scheduled 5:30 p.m. CST kickoff, the game was postponed due to pending inclement weather. Both teams returned to the field for a 6:20 start time.



Harvard Men end regular season with blanking of Yale
In the final weekend of regular-season play, the 15th-ranked
Harvard men?s soccer team took down the Yale Bulldogs, 4-0, Saturday at Reese
Stadium. The Crimson had two multi-point scorers in junior Michael Fucito who
had five points (two goals, one assist) and sophomore Andre Akpan who had four
points (one goal, two assists). Combined with another solid performance by
senior goalkeeper Adam Hahn, Harvard finishes its regular season on a
three-game win streak.

Akpan started the scoring when he found junior Marcel Perl in the 37th minute.
Akpan served a ball in to Perl who headed the pass into the far corner of the
net. The strike was Perl?s second of the season, both being game-winners.

Exactly one minute and one second later, Fucito found Akpan for his team and
league leading 13th strike of the season. The assist was Fucito?s seventh of
the season.

In the second half, Fucito kept the Crimson offensive momentum going when he
scored twice in less than six minutes. In the 74th minute, Akpan dribbled
through the Yale defense and found Fucito in the left side of the box for the
strike. Akpan?s two assists now gives him nine on the season and combined with
his 13 goals, gives him a season total of 35 points.

In the 80th minute, junior John Stamatis found Fucito streaking through the left
side of the box for the game?s final goal. For Stamatis, it was his fifth helper
of the season. Fucito finishes his regular season with 11 goals and seven
assists for a total of 29 points.


Friday
Tennessee opened its Women's Tournament campaign Friday with a 2-0 win over Furman. A match report can be seen HERE

Big East Semifinals: UConn, Notre Dame win
Storrs, Conn. - The Louisville men's soccer team fell in the BIG EAST tournament semi-finals to No.2 Connecticut 5-1 on Friday night at Morrone Stadium. The Cardinals fall to 10-6-4 overall and 6-4-2 in BIG EAST play while Connecticut improved to 17-2-1 overall and 9-2-1 in league play.

Up against a large and animated home crowd in support of Connecticut, the Cardinals struck first in the opening half with a goal aided by the 20 mph winds blowing through Morrone Stadium. Gerardo Chavez found Frank Jonke alone on the left side of the Huskies' goal for a shot that Jonke lightly chipped into the air. Connecticut goalie Josh Ford made a stretch to block the ball, but the wind sent the shot floating over his head to give Louisville the lead.

Ten minutes later the Huskies came up with the tying goal off a one-on-one effort from the BIG EAST leader in goals and points scored O'Brian White. White found himself alone five feet from the goal with only Cardinal goalie David Simolike to beat. Using a quick hesitation move, White caught Simolike off balance and tapped in the tying goal.

The first half came to a close with the score tied at 1-1 as the defensive play of both teams set the tone of the half. There were only seven shots total between both teams with Louisville attempting four, all on goal, and Connecticut three, with two on goal.

Second half play was no mirror image of the first. Connecticut abandoned their ball control style and began to attack the Cardinals' goal with a fury of shots. Husky Julius James scored the first goal of the second half off a hard shot into the back of the net. Mike Pezza continued the Connecticut attack in the 9th minute with a shot that used the ground to bounce over Simolike, and into the goal to give the Huskies a 3-1 advantage.

O'Brian matched his first half effort with another goal in a similar close quarter's situation. Being only five feet from the goal O'Brian was able to place the ball into the net for the Huskies. Leading 4-1, Connecticut was able to shut down the Cardinals offense the rest of the game. One more goal was added to the lead off a Dori Arad header in the left side of the goal for the Huskies to end at a 5-1 advantage.


ACC Men's Semifinals: Wake Forest and Boston College advance to final
North Carolina battled No. 1-ranked Wake Forest to the bitter end Friday but fell 1-0 on a Marcus Tracy goal with just 38 seconds left in the first overtime Friday in Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal action at SAS Soccer Complex. With the loss, the Tar Heels fall to 7-8-5 and will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.

Tracy's eighth goal of the season sends the Demon Deacons (17-1-2) to Sunday*s championship game against top-seeded Boston College, which beat Virginia Tech 3-1. Tracy dribbled the ball up the left flank, past charging UNC goalkeeper Tyler Deric, into the box and fired from 15 yards into an open net for the game-winner.


MAC Men's Semifinal: Akron 2, Northern Illinois 1
The top-seeded University of Akron men’s soccer team used goals by freshmen Michael Nanchoff and Steve Zakuani to complete a 2-1 come-from-behind, double overtime victory over fifth-seed Northern Illinois Friday night in the semifinals of the 2007 Mid-American Conference Tournament.

“We beat a very tough NIU team tonight,” said UA head coach Caleb Porter. “It was a battle until the end. I give their players, especially their seniors who played their last game tonight, an awful lot of credit for the effort they displayed. In the end, I knew if we kept getting chances, eventually the goal would come. That was a special goal from Steve (Zakuani) and that is usually the difference in a game like these tonight.”

Akron controlled the action most of the first half. However, the Akron defense did not clear the ball out of its zone very well, which left Northern Illinois’ Chris Rufa with a clear shot on goal. His ball beat Akron keeper Evan Bush, but hit the left post. Drew Jeskey was there to punch home the rebound in the 37th minute, marking his second goal of the season.

Akron was undaunted and kept putting itself in position to score. Then, after a foul on the Huskies in the 43rd minute, Nanchoff (North Royalton, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) took the free kick and hit a rocket past the NIU wall and by Huskies’ keeper Joe Zimka for Nanchoff’s first goal as a Zip.

Overall in the first half, Akron took nine shots to NIU’s three, while getting six corner kick opportunities to the Huskies none.

The Zips continued to apply pressure in the second half, holding a 7-4 shot advantage and a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks. However, the Huskies had a chance to put away the potential game winner in the 75th minute. Off their lone corner kick of the half, Akron once again had trouble clearing the ball. NIU had several chances with the ball just feet from the Akron goal. Fraser Gibson had two point blank tries, which were blocked, and Steve Algozino had one.

Akron had the only shot between the teams in the first overtime and fired three to NIU’s none in the second. The third UA shot came off the foot of Zakuani, who was named the 2007 MAC Newcomer of the Year prior to the match. The London, England, native took the ball, made a couple of moves at the top left corner of the box and ripped a shot, beating a diving Zimka just inside the right post for his team-best sixth goal of the season.

The win was big for the Zips. Even thought NIU came in as the fifth seed, it was the only MAC team not to lose to the Zips this season, tying 0-0, and was the team that beat Akron in last year’s MAC Tournament final.

With the win, Akron will face second-seed Buffalo in the championship match Sunday. The title game is set for 2 pm at Akron’s Lee Jackson Field. Bulls scored with under three minutes left to hand Hartwick a 1-0 loss. UB’s Dan Stevens fired a shot from 25 yards out at the top of the box. The shot deflected off a Hawk defender and slipped just inside the right post for the game winner.

Thursday
Already this week we've seen the surprise results of Florida International defeating top 10 program SMU 2-1 in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament in Birmingham.

In Pac 10 League play, UCLA kept itself alive for NCAA Tournament consideration with a 1-1 draw against San Diego State. There is no conference tournament. UCLA finishes the regular season at 8-8-3. I still think it would be wrong not to include the Bruins in the postseason competition, and if they get in, they can still do a lot of damage.

Most 1st Round matches on the Women's side are Friday, but there was a doubleheader in College Station, Texas, where Texas and Texas A&M set up a 2nd round showdown by beating their respective opponents.

Texas A&M defeats Stephen F. Austin 4-1
Senior forward Ashlee Pistorius broke the Texas A&M career record for goals scored (81) and total points (194) as she led the Aggie soccer team (18-3-2) to a 4-1 victory over the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (13-5-2) to advance to NCAA Second Round play on Thursday night at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.

"I thought it was a good night. The weather was fantastic and our playing surface is in great shape,” A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. “We reminded our players to enjoy themselves tonight. This is a great experience. There are 311 teams in NCAA Division 1 and not everybody gets to experience playing in a NCAA Tournament game."

Pistorius netted both of her goals in the first 10 minutes of the match. The first coming in the fourth minute off a lofty cross from Amy Berend on the left side of the field. Berend sent the pass back across the goalmouth to the far post where the MAC Hermann Trophy hopeful headed home the goal that broke the A&M career record previously held by Bryn Blalack.

Just five minutes later Pistorius dribbled through two SFA defenders to find herself with a wide open opportunity to put away her nation-leading 25th goal of the season.

A&M kept command of the ball in the second half, scoring two more goals off another 18 shots. The Aggies’ third goal of the night came off a set piece in the 57th minute. Sophomore forward Cydne Currie was brought down just outside the 18 yard box, setting up Melissa Garey for the direct free kick. Left-footed, Garey planted the ball in the right upper-90 for her ninth goal of the season.

The Ladyjacks were able to get on the board in the 67th minute as freshman forward Kesia Broome mimicked Pistorius’ second goal dribbling through the Aggie backline and firing a rocket from the left side past Kelly Dyer who’d come off her line to try to defend the attack. The goal was Broome’s second of the season and brought the score to 3-1 in A&M’s favor.

Pistorius wasn’t finished with just two goals. The Illinois-native added her ninth assist of the year when she crossed the ball back into the keeper box for freshman Inge Harding to launch into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal, punching A&M’s ticket to Saturday’s second round action.

The win moved the Aggies to 11-2 in first round games and extended A&M’s home-game winning-streak to 20, dating back to Sept. 20, 2006.

The Aggies will face the Texas Longhorns on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. with a shot at a trip to the NCAA “Sweet 16” on the line.


Women's NCAA 1st Round: Texas 2, BYU 0
Freshman forward Alisha Ortiz scored two first-half goals to propel No. 6 Texas past No. 24 Brigham Young, 2-0, in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship First Round at Aggie Soccer Stadium on Thursday.

Texas (15-3-5) will face Texas A&M at 5:30 p.m. Saturday (CT).

The Longhorns win 15 matches for the fourth time in program history, all under the watch of current head coach Chris Petrucelli. With the shutout, the Longhorns tie the school record of 10 blanks in a single season set during the 2006 campaign.

BYU (17-3-2) ends the season in the first round for the third consecutive year. The Cougars were held scoreless for the fifth time in 23 matches.

Ortiz (Highland Village, Texas) scored her first goal in the 10th minute of the game. The play started when junior defender Jill Gilbeau (San Diego, Calif.) dribbled in front of the benches on the far side. She passed to Nikki Arlitt who drew the goalkeeper out of the net. Arlitt slid and kicked the ball towards Ortiz who dribbled around a BYU defender before shooting into the net. Cougars’ goalkeeper Erika Woodbury came out to defend Arlitt leaving the nets open for Ortiz’s score.

In the 18th minute, Ortiz netted her second goal off a deflected shot by senior forward Kelsey Carpenter. Carpenter fired one of her 2 shots of the game but was blocked by a BYU defender. Ortiz collected the rebound and put it in the far corner of the net for the first multi-goal game of her career and her third career goal.

Junior goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger (Sugar Land, Texas) won her 40th game, saving 9 shots on goal and recording her seventh shutout of the year. She saved three crucial attempts in a two-minute span at the 83-minute mark as the BYU offense pressured the UT defense for a score.

Woodbury, who has only given up two goals once this year, allowed 2 scores and saved 5 shots on goal. The record-setting Cougar senior ends her final season with a 16-4-2 record.


Men's CUSA 1st Round: Top-seeded Tulsa wins delayed game over UAB
Junior forward Eric DeFreitas punched in a goal for top-seeded and seventh-ranked Tulsa, to give the Golden Hurricane a 1-0 victory over eighth-seeded UAB on Thursday afternoon in the Conference USA Championship quarterfinals. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday night, but inclement weather forced the game into a one-day delay.

DeFreitas scored the lone goal of the contest and his seventh goal of the season in the 10th minute of the contest off a deflection from a defender.

TU out-shot the Blazers, 13-3, including a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Tyrel Lacey earned his first start in goal this season and tallied one save for the only shutout in the quarterfinals.

TU will face fourth-seeded South Carolina at 7:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday night at West Campus Field on the UAB campus.

Tulsa improved to 13-2-2 on the season, while the Blazers ended their 2007 campaign with a 7-11-1 mark.


Atlantic Sun Men's Semifinal #1: Jacksonville advances
The top-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins scored a pair of first-half goals, withstood a furious Lipscomb rally then added an insurance goal in a 3-2 victory in the opening semifinal match of the Atlantic Sun Men’s Soccer Championship, presented by Bealls Outlet on Thursday at the Stetson Soccer Complex.

Jacksonville’s two first-half goals came within a 15-minute span. Sophomore Stefan Runeman, an All-Atlantic Sun Second-Team member, opened the scoring with a goal past Lipscomb keeper Jake Goergen following a scramble after a free kick. The goal, his second of the season, improved the Dolphins mark when scoring first to 11-2.

The Dolphins (11-7-1) lead would double 15 minutes later when Jonathon Jackson found the back of the net for the first time this season. He capitalized on a beautifully served pass from Eddie Munnelly.

“Our right back, Eddie Munnelly passed me the ball, I turned and he told me to shoot, so I shot with my right foot and it was a good goal,” Jackson said. “I was very happy when I scored it.”

Lipscomb (6-12-3) cut into the lead in the final minute of the first half. For the second straight game, Ben Page a member of the All-Atlantic Sun First-Team scored on a penalty kick. Like in their quarterfinal match, the Bisons earned the penalty following a foul called while Miguel DaSilva advanced towards the net.

“The momentum swings when you give up a late goal and it swings to a team that was maybe getting it handed to them.” Coach of the Year Mike Johnson said. “I don’t think we were as clean or as good as we can be, but we were good enough to win. Tonight we were a little disorganized and I don’t know what it was.”

As ominous clouds descended on the Stetson Soccer Complex, Lipscomb gave itself several chances to level the score throughout the second half. Its best chance came in the 63rd minute when Page fired a shot from point-blank range, but JU’s Second-Team All-Atlantic Sun Matt Gilman keeper made a quick-reflex save to preserve the one-goal lead.

The Dolphins appeared to salt away the victory when Phillip Meyner found the back of the net in the 80th minute for his third tally of the year. However, the Bisons had one final attack in them as DaSilva extended his Lipscomb single-season goal record to 10 when he scored in the game’s final minute.

Atlantic Sun Men's Semifinal #2: Campbell upsets Stetson
The third-seeded Campbell Camels pulled off the first upset of the 2007 Men’s Soccer Championship, presented by Bealls Outlet, defeating host and second-seeded Stetson 2-0 in a semifinal match on Thursday at the Stetson Soccer Complex in front of a Complex-record 525 fans.

Campbell (13-5-2) netted the lone score of the opening 45 minutes when Vince Petrasso’s blast from over 30 yards out found the back of the Stetson net. Petrasso’s goal was his third of the Championship and fourth of the season.

“We are sitting there as time is winding down in the half and talking about how we have got to go hunt out the game a little bit,” head coach Doug Hess said. “Then, all the sudden you turn and that goal goes in. It totally changed our mentality heading into the half and our tactics for the rest of the match.”

Petrasso nearly turned in his second multi-goal performance in as many days as in the second half he once got caught from behind as he broke towards the net and later, he fired a shot on goal on net causing Stetson keeper Evan White to make a leaping and sprawling save.

The Camels finally extended the lead to two on a Stetson own goal following a free kick from Josue Soto in the midfield and junior goalkeeper Aaron Johnson made the lead stand up, recording his fourth shutout of the season by turning away four Stetson shots.