Nov. 3, 2005
The University of Dayton and Charlotte each advanced to the semifinals of the 2005 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship with a pair of 2-1 victories Thursday night at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio. Third-seeded Charlotte will play second-seeded University of Rhode Island Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET with fourth-seeded Dayton playing top-seeded Saint Louis University at 8 p.m. ET.
In game two, the homestanding Flyers (10-6-3) didn't need overtime, but hung on to defeat fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's 2-1. UD struck for the first two goals of the match and dodged a late charge by the Hawks (8-9-3) in earning the quarterfinal victory.
UD struck first as Amanda Gallow headed a shot from eight yards out past SJU keeper Nicole DiEnna in the 36th minute. Gallow's third goal of the season came on assists from Laura Boland and April Carbajal.
"The first 25 minutes we couldn't see the ball," said UD head coach Mike Tucker. But when we finally settled down and played soccer we were pretty good."
The Flyers took the 1-0 lead into the half and extended their advantage to 2-0 in the 57th minute with the ninth goal of the season from Reba Sedlacek. Gallow sent a pass up the middle of the field to Sedlacek, who chipped it from 15 yards out for the eventual game-winner.
"I thought we had some good chances and created some good opportunities," Tucker said. "But that big save by Niki [Reed] early was huge."
Saint Joseph's, who dropped its second-consecutive 2-1 decision to Dayton in conference tournament play, would keep the pressure on and cut the lead in half in the 76th minute with the fourth goal of the season from Ali Wean. A corner kick from Megan Schutt found the head of Wean, who flicked it past UD goalkeeper Niki Reed in heavy traffic in front of the net.
"If we put away our chances it could have been a different ending," SJU head coach Jess Reynolds said. "We knew we had to put pressure on Lowstuter and Sedlacek and they came through for them. Dayton has a great team and they worked hard. They had special players that stepped up."
For the match, UD goalkeeper Niki Reed made four saves for the Flyers while DiEnna made five stops for the Hawks. UD owned a 20-10 advantage in shots, but the Hawks had the edge in corner kicks, 9-4.
In the first quarterfinal, a dramatic goal from Charlotte's Nicole Labuda lifted the 49ers (11-8-0) to a 2-1 overtime victory over Duquesne University. Labuda took a pass from Lindsey Beam on the right flank and her shot from eight yards out beat Duquesne goalkeeper Virginia Bondi for the game-winner just 48 seconds into the first overtime period.
The Dukes (10-6-1), playing in their first A-10 Women's Soccer Championship, jumped on the board first as Erica Carey took advantage of a penalty kick in the 27th minute and beat Charlotte goalkeeper Juli Black, giving Duquesne a 1-0 advantage.
Duquesne took the 1-0 lead to the half and owned a 10-2 advantage in shots.
"We had a big decision to make at halftime, play in fear of losing or get after it and take a risk," said Charlotte head coach John Lipsitz. "Win or lose, we were going to take a risk and I am proud of the girls for stepping up and doing this."
Just 2:11 into the second half, Charlotte struck for the equalizer as Labuda wove through the Duquesne defense and found Kelsie Ormsby with a pass inside the box. Ormsby scored her fifth goal of the season as she chipped it passed Bondi from 15 yards out.
In the extra session, Charlotte pushed the ball down the right side off the opening kickoff and Beam served ball to Labuda. Her ninth-goal of the season was the game-winner, giving Charlotte its first A-10 Championship win in its first year in the league.
"Duquesne is a great team and I knew it would come down to one big moment," Lipsitz said.
Black made five saves in net for the 49ers while Bondi had one stop for the Dukes. For the match, Duquesne owned a 15-6 advantage in shots and 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
"This has been an absolutely amazing season," said Duquesne head coach James Walker. "I'm so proud of the girls. We had a lot firsts this season. It was our first trip to the Conference Championship and our first year with a winning A-10 record. We accomplished a lot this season." |
