Golden Rams score twice in final
16 minutes to clinch first Final Four berth
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (November
11, 2006) - West Chester (Pa.) University, ranked No. 2 in
the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of
America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, scored twice in the final
16-minutes to defeat No. 6-ranked Franklin Pierce, 2-1, in
quarterfinal round action of the 2006 NCAA Division II Women's
Soccer Championships on South Campus Soccer Field this afternoon.
Freshman Michele Kolenet
(Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) capped the West Chester
comeback with her seventh goal of the season with just 50-seconds
remaining in regulation. Kolenet carried the ball down the right
side before cutting across the top of the 18 and firing a low shot
past the outstretched efforts of Franklin Pierce junior goalkeeper
Jenna Mello (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) and
into the left side of the net.
"For 75-minutes I thought we were
in control," said Franklin Pierce Head Coach Jeff
Bailey. "We got the goal and looked fairly comfortable.
They started to throw everything at us at the end, we made the
mistake, it cost us, and the momentum shifted. We had a couple of
good opportunities, but we were never able to regain the midfield
anymore and there's always that chance they will get that late one.
It's just not our year."
Franklin Pierce enjoyed the run of
play through the second half, but defender Allison Haines
(Honolulu, Hawaii/Roosevelt) turned the wrong way on a
through ball from West Chester senior Casey McKinney
(Dillsburg, Pa./Northern), which allowed freshman
Rita Alton (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) to
collect the loose ball and score her first collegiate goal in the
75th minute to equalize the match.
"I was able to tap it past the
defender and then hit it inside the side netting," said Alton.
"It's a great feeling as a redshirt freshman to be able to step up
and do this for the upperclassmen."
"It was massive," said West Chester
Head Coach Gerry Lucey. "It may not have been the
prettiest goal, but it gave us a massive lift and obviously changed
Franklin Pierce's mood too."
"The goal came at the wrong time
for us with 15-minutes left in the half," said Bailey. "I thought
if we could have held on longer, maybe they would have been forced
to commit more players forward and we could have maybe stung them
on the break. They got a goal at the perfect time for them and
obviously the second one gives you no time to come
back."
After neither team really instilled
their will in the first half, Franklin Pierce took charge from the
opening whistle of the second half and were rewarded for their
efforts in the 55th minute when junior Laura
Stockdale (Sunderland, England) connected with classmate
Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil). Demoner fired
a low shot from the top of the 18 in the left channel that beat
West Chester sophomore goalkeeper Hilary Smart (Enola,
Pa./Cumberland Valley) to her right for her team-leading
15th goal of the season.
"Twice this year we fell behind and
both times we came back with a lot of fire in us," said Lucey. "I
wasn't worried about the girls getting deflated, I was more worried
about them getting out of our game plan. I was happy with how we
kept playing and kept our composure and were still able to create
our chances."
Demoner had two more chances to
make her mark in the match after the Golden Rams were able to
equalize. Her first came right off the kickoff after WCU's goal as
she broke in one-on-one with Smart, but the ball took a high
bounce, forcing Demoner's shot to push high and wide of the target.
"The goal mouth is a little rough
and I think the first one bubbled up on the shin for her," said
Bailey. "The second one the keeper came out and made a good save.
You either make your chances or you don't and that's the
difference."
Smart made two saves in an
81st minute flurry, the first coming when Demoner again
broke through the West Chester defense one-on-one with the keeper,
but Smart made an excellent stop and then got a hand to Haines shot
off the rebound.
"I gave her the first one and I
wasn't giving her the second one," said Smart. "I was pretty fired
up and we weren't going to lose after that."
Smart finished with four saves to
preserve the victory for West Chester, who makes its first trip to
the Final Four in program history. Mello finished with five stops
for the Ravens, who were out-shot by the hosts, 12-11, including
8-7 in the second half.
"I honestly thought Franklin Pierce
was going to take it there," said Lucey. "(Demoner) had a couple of
opportunities there to seal the game. They were a good team, the
strongest opposition we have faced this season without a doubt. It
could have gone either way, we were just fortunate to put our last
one away."
West Chester (23-0-0) will face No.
12 Metro State University in a national semifinal match on
Thursday. Metro State topped No. 3 UC San Diego, 2-0, in another
quarterfinal in Denver, Colo., this afternoon. The match will be
played as part of the NCAA Division II Fall Sports Festival in
Pensacola, Fla., with the National Championship match slated for
Saturday, November 18.
Franklin Pierce (18-3-1) sees its
season come to a close one game shy of the Final Four for just the
second time in the last 15 years. The Ravens captured their record
seventh-straight Northeast-10 Tournament title and
11th-consecutive NCAA New England Regional crowns this
season.
MATCH
STATISTICS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
