November 11-12, 2004 NCAA Championships First Round North Carolina 6, Campbell 0 North Carolina eased its way into the second round of the 2004 NCAA Women's College Cup with a 6-0 victory over Atlantic Sun Conference champion Campbell University before a crowd of 1,144 at Fetzer Field. Senior forward Anne Morrell and sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Guess each scored two goals for the Tar Heels and senior midfielder Mary McDowell came off the bench to add a goal and an assist for Carolina. The Tar Heels advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and they will play on November 13. North Carolina, the tournament's No. 1 seed, improved to 19-0-2 on the season with the win over the Camels in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The Tar Heels are now unbeaten in their last 48 matches over the past two seasons. Campbell, which came into the match with an unbeaten string of 17 matches of its own, saw it 2004 campaign end with a 12-2-7 record. The Tar Heels got on the board less than five minutes into the match when Anne Morrell finished a nifty passing combination for a goal at the 4:50 mark. Kacey White passed the ball to Jaime Gilbert in the right side of the penalty area and Gilbert's cross to the far left post was one-timed into the goal by Morrell for her fifth goal of the season. Just over 10 minutes later, Morrell added to the Tar Heel lead as she gathered in a clearance off a UNC corner kick and rifled a precision-like bullet of a shot just inside the left post past Campbell goalkeeper Erin Switalski. At the 27:30 mark of the match, Carolina was awarded a free kick about 35 yards from the goal and Lori Chalupny's strike hit the wall and went to Mary McDowell who finished off the scoring opportunity for her second goal of the season and first since the season opener against Nebraska. The Tar Heels made the score 4-0 less than six minutes before halftime as Elizabeth Guess went one-v-one with Switalski after receiving passes from Kacey White and Julie Yates. Nursing a 4-0 halftime advantage, the Tar Heels went on to add to their lead with two second half goals. Guess scored her second straight goal, and fifth of the season, as she took on three Campbell defenders in the left side of the box and threaded a shot that went into the right side netting to increase the UNC lead to 5-0. The Tar Heels finished off the scoring in the final minute of play on a goal by UNC's Leea Murphy, her second of the year, on a breakaway. Murphy received a pass from McDowell and motored toward the Camel goal where she beat Switalski and then slotted the ball neatly inside the right post. UNC finished with a 29-4 advantage in shots and had 11 corner kicks to three for the Camels. Switalski made eight saves for Campbell while neither UNC goalkeeper was forced to make a save. Each squad recorded one team save. William & Mary 2, Virginia Tech 1 William and Mary scored two unanswered goals, with the game winner coming on a Virginia Tech own goal, after allowing a Hokies goal in the sixth minute, and the Tribe defense withstood a furious Hokie offensive charge in the second half as William and Mary advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 with a 2-1 win over Virginia Tech at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, NC. W&M improves to 12-6-4 while the Hokies, which qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, ends its season with an 11-10 mark. The Tribe outshot its cross-state rival 16-13 and had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks, but the Hokies struck first in the sixth minute. Molly McCall sent a cross from the right side to the far post, where Heather Hallberg buried home her fifth goal of the year into the upper right corner. Virginia Tech held its lead until the 18th minute, when Tribe freshman midfielder Mary MacKenzie Grier found the back of the net for the third time in four matches. Lydia Sturgis fired a corner kick to the center of the 18-yard box directly to Grier, who outjumped her mark and headed home the equalizer for her third career goal. All three of her goals have come in the postseason. W&M received help from the Hokies in the 37th minute to conclude the scoring. Grier headed a ball to Katie Hogwood at the goal mouth. Hogwood wheeled and fired a left-footed blast that hit the crossbar. The rebound bounced off of a Virginia Tech defender marking Taline Tahmassian and into the left corner of the net for what proved to be the winning goal. The Hokies had several scoring chances in the second half but could not capitalize. Late in the game, a Tech player got behind the Tribe defense and fired a shot off the right post. Earlier in the half, a Hokies attacker had a wide- open net to shoot at but her attempt went wide. Kellie Fenton made two saves in the net for the Tribe, and her counterpart, Mallory Soldner, collected eight saves for the Hokies. The win puts the Tribe in the NCAA second round for the first time since 2001 when it defeated Wake Forest 2-1 in overtime on a free kick by Ali West. The Tribe's next opponent is the tournament's overall number one seed North Carolina, which defeated Campbell 6-0 in the first game. The Tribe is 0-19-1 all-time against the Tar Heels, with the lone tie coming in 1987, a match in which the Tribe won 4-2 on penalty kicks. The second round match with the Tar Heels is scheduled for Nov 13 at Fetzer Field. #6 Santa Clara 2, California 1 Sixth-ranked Santa Clara University defeated the University of California 2-1 in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. The Broncos are the tournament's 16th overall seed, and advanced with Leslie Osborne's team-leading eighth goal of the season. The Broncos improve to 15-4-2. Cal's season ends with an 11-6-3 record. The 23rd NCAA Championship continues at Buck Shaw Stadium on Nov 14 with the second round. Santa Clara will face the winner of the Stanford versus Cal Poly contest. The Broncos allowed their first goal in 594 minutes when Cal scored in the 24th minute. A Bronco defender cleared the ball over the goal, setting up a corner kick. Bear midfielder Chioma Igwe took the corner on the far side, and found Nadia Al-Lami across the goal-mouth for the early score. Al-Lami bested a diving SCU keeper Julie Ryder with a shot into the lower right corner. Santa Clara saw a strong opportunity to tie the score inside 10 minutes with a free kick off a foul in midfield. Jordan Angeli lofted a perfect serve to Osborne, whose header was just high. The Broncos stayed strong and tied the match in the final 30 seconds before intermission. Senior forward Megan Kakadelas took a corner kick from the far side and served it across the goal, where sophomore Marian Dalmy scored through traffic. Her goal was her second of the season. The Broncos followed in the second half with a goal scored in similar fashion. A Bronco was fouled just outside the side of the box, setting up Kakadelas' free kick. Her serve found Osborne, who took a hard-angled header back across the goal for the go-ahead score, her fifth game-winner of the year. It was all the Broncos would need. #18 Stanford 2, Cal Poly 0 Stanford posted a 2-0 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University. Despite losing First-Team All-Pac-10 forward Marcie Ward to an injury before the match, the Cardinal scored a pair of goals in the first half to win its first round game. Stanford will take on its hosts, the 16th-seeded Santa Clara Broncos, on Nov 8. Cardinal freshman Lizzy George scored the game-winning goal in the 16th minute, after sophomore Shari Summers found her in the left corner of the box. Just two minutes and 13 seconds later, senior Martha West added an insurance goal after Cal Poly failed to clear the ball out of the box completely. Senior keeper Nicole Barnhart picked up four saves and recorded her tenth shutout of the season and the 39th of her career, putting her just one blanking shy of tying the school record of 40 set by Leslie Garrard (1990-94). The Cardinal is now 12-12-2 all-time in the postseason and improved to 8-5 in first round games with the win. Stanford will face Santa Clara for the second time this season on November 14; the squads battled to a 0-0 double overtime tie on Sept 30 in Santa Clara. Last season, the Broncos knocked the Cardinal out of the tournament in the opening game when Santa Clara freshman Marian Dalmy scored the only goal of the game in the 59th minute. Stanford is now 13-5-3 on the year, while Cal Poly ends the 2004 season at 11-3-6. Santa Clara defeated Cal in the early game, 2-1, and enter the next game with a 15-4-2 mark. #25 Illinois 2, Rice 0 Defense was the name of the game as the Orange and Blue showed their strength in the back, while senior forward Tara Hurless notched both goals for the Illini for a 2-0 shutout of Rice in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois (14-5-2) moves on to the second round of the tournament to play either Texas A&M or Texas State on Nov 14. The Illini began the match in control, disrupting the Owl defense with eight shots in the first half. The Orange and Blue first cracked the board in the 23rd minute when senior forward Tara Hurless launched a shot 20 yards out from the right side that would hook in the upper left corner. The goal for Hurless was her 11th of the season, tying her with Emily Brown as Illinois' all-time scoring leader with 46 career goals. Offensively, Rice would only fire one shot in the half, but defensively the Owls were able to hold the Illini scoring attack to one goal entering halftime. In the second half, the Illini would compete for control against a more aggressive Rice team. Despite the Owls getting off four shots in the final half, the Illini defense held strong, clearing out ball after ball, while the Orange and Blue frontrunners made an aggressive stance of their own. The Illini continued to pressure Rice in the box, with Hurless connecting again in the 85th minute off a feed from Andrea Ridgeway from eight yards out. The Rockford, Ill. native would surpass Emily Brown and become Illinois' all-time career leader in goals with the score. With the win, the Illini advance to the second round of the national tournament for only the second time in school history. The first occurred in 2000 when Illinois beat Xavier 2-1 in the opening contest. Illini goalkeeper Leisha Alcia recorded her tenth shutout of the year and made three saves on the night. #7 Texas A&M 10, Texas State 0 Eight different Aggies scored goals as the No. 7 Aggies defeated the Texas State Bobcats, 10-0, in front of 2,218 fans in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Senior co-captain Amanda Burke put the Aggies on the board in the seventh minute when she one-timed a pass from Ashlee Pistorius placing it into the right side of the goal. Pistorius factored in on the Aggies' next goal in the eighth minute when she received a pass from Shannon Labhart and fed it to Madison Klovstad who finished off her fifth goal of the season by beating the keeper low and to the right. Labhart made it 3-0 just one minute later when she placed a free kick inside the top left corner of the goal for her second of the season. With two assists on the night, Pistorius got into the scoring in the 11th minute when she took a long pass from Carrie Berend and flicked it over the charging goalies head for her 18th goal of the season. Melissa Garey added A&M's fifth goal in the 35th minute with a header just under the crossbar off a Linda Pierson restart. Suzzette Devloo made it 6-0 at the half when she drove a cross from Becky Olson past the keeper on a one-time volley in the 40th minute. After forcing a Texas State own goal in the 58th minute, Devloo scored her second goal of the night when she took a pass from Cristina Echavarry at the center circle and dribbled into the box beating the keeper with a low shot to the far post. With Emma Smith's goal in the 78th minute the Aggies surpassed their previous NCAA scoring high of eight goals with her third of the season. Smith one-timed a pass from Olson beating the keeper into the upper left side of the goal. The Aggies' 8-0 win over Northwestern State in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament was A&M's largest margin of victory prior to this match. Echavarry closed out the scoring, off a Smith assist, in the 87th minute when she knocked the ball into the open net after Smith pulled the goalie off the line. It only took the Aggies 12 minutes and five shots to go up 5-0 against the Bobcats. The Aggies oushot Texas State 31-4 in the game. The Aggies have outscored their opponents 19-1 in their last four games, recording three shutouts. The Aggies who pride themselves on intensity and impact from the sidelines got just that as the reserves, or 'Fresh Legs' as they call themselves, scored five of the Aggies' ten goals while forcing their opponent into an own goal. Texas State's own goal was the third for the Aggies in the last four games. Oklahoma State gave the Aggies a goal in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament before Texas matched the feat in the championship game. The win was the Aggies' 100th win at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Nebraska 3, Oral Roberts 0 Junior forward Nikki Baker tied the Nebraska NCAA Tournament record and set a career high by scoring three goals in the Huskers' 3-0 win over Oral Roberts in the first round of the tournament in Lawrence, KS. With the win, NU advances to the second round where it will face the winner of the Creighton and Kansas game on Nov 14. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Huskers and improved their overall record to 13-8, marking the ninth straight season that Nebraska has posted at least 13 victories. The win was also NU's ninth consecutive victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Baker put Nebraska up 1-0 in the minute with her 11th goal of the season and her first goal in five games. An Oral Roberts defender failed to clear a ball and Baker beat another defender to a loose ball on the far side of the box and sent a hard shot past Golden Eagle goalkeeper Mandy Evans for the Huskers' first goal in their last three games. Baker struck again in the 15th minute off an assist from senior Brooke Bredenberg. Bredenberg sent a perfect through ball past two defenders to Baker, who scored from nearly the identical spot from her first goal. Bredenberg's assist was her second of the season, tying her single-season career high. The assist also gave her 10 points for the season, marking the first time in her four-year career she has reached double figures in points. Baker completed her hat trick by converting a penalty kick at 65:51. Nearly one minute after senior Lindsey Ingram sent a shot off the crossbar, Nebraska pressured again and Baker got behind the Nebraska defense and was pulled down from behind in the box by an Oral Roberts defender. She earned a penalty kick and converted by sending a shot into the bottom left corner of the net. A native of Bixby, OK, Baker now has 13 goal on the season, four more than her previous high total for a season. It was her fourth multi-goal game of 2004 and upped her season point total to 28, second-most on the team and eight points more than her previous career high. In goal, sophomore Katie Wright made four saves in recording her seventh shutout of the season. The shutout was Nebraska's first in the NCAA Tournament since a 1-0 victory over Yale on Nov. 17, 2002. The three-goal margin of victory was also NU's largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament since the Huskers defeated Brigham Young, 3-0, in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. For the game, Nebraska outshot Oral Roberts, 22-9, and placed nine shots on goal. ORU (14-6-1) managed only four shots on goal. When Nebraska faces either Creighton or Kansas on Nov 14, it will be looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in nine years. #14 Kansas 3, Creighton 1 After falling behind early in the game, the University of Kansas scored three unanswered goals to defeated Creighton, 3-1, at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. The Bluejays (9-8-4) drew first blood in the match, taking a 1-0 lead in the game's eighth minute after sophomore midfielder Emily Munn fired a shot from 25-yards that eluded Kansas goalkeeper Meghan Miller. The score would be the only tally allowed by Miller on the day, as she made three saves and shut Creighton out for the rest of the match. No. 8 national seed Kansas (18-4-0) tied the match in the 18th minute as freshman defender Afton Sauer was able to convert her second goal of the year on a header off passes from sophomore Holly Gault and junior Caroline Smith. Less that ten minutes before halftime, Kansas took its first lead of the day, as junior forward Jessica Smith took a pass from sophomore Jessica Kilpatrick and slipped in a one-on-one to beat Creigthon goalkeeper Valerie Zimmerer for her third goal of the season. Senior Monica Brothers put the Jayhawks up 3-1 with an insurance goal at the 53:46 mark, as she took a pass from Caroline Smith and fired two shots at the diving goalkeeper, the second of which she fired into the net for her fourth goal of the year. The goal moved Brothers alone into third place on the all-time Kansas points list with 51 career points. The Leavenworth, KS, native now trails only teammates Caroline Smith and senior Rachel Gilfillan on the list. The victory marked the first come from behind win for the Jayhawks this season and tied 2003 team for the most wins in a season with 18. Kansas will be back in action on Nov 14 as they face Big 12 rival Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. Colorado 3, Utah 0 Allie True scored the first half game-winner as Colorado ran to a 3-0 NCAA first round victory over Utah at Harry A. Merlo Field. True put the Buffs on the board in the 18th minute, splitting the Utah defensive wall on a free kick from 25 yards. True's shot beat Utah goalie Ashley Mason to the lower left. Colorado got some insurance in the 69th minute as Ellen Falender's shot attempt deflected off a defender sailed just under the crossbar. The Buffs made it 3-0 in the 88th minute as Ashlie Mihalcin was led by a nice pass from defender Laura Munnelly into the right side of the penalty box. Mihalcin crossed over a defender and slotted a 10 yard shot past Utah keeper Glennis Donnelly. The Buffs doubled the Utes in shot attempts, 20-10 and had a 4-3 edge in corners. Colorado advances to the second round and will face the winner of Portland and Weber State on Nov 14. #5 Portland 3, Weber State 0 Fifth-seeded Portland took the first step towards a second national championship with a 3-0 victory over Weber State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Harry A. Merlo Field. Pilot freshman Natalie Budge and WCC Player of the Year Christine Sinclair each had a goal and an assist, while junior All-American Lindsey Huie tallied an unassisted strike to account for Portland's three goals. Weber State (8-10-2), earning a playoff spot after winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament, made the program's first-ever NCAA appearance in a familiar setting after playing the Pilots earlier this season under the newly constructed lights at Merlo Field. The Wildcats fell 4-0 in that match and had a similar fate against an experienced Portland squad this postseason. Portland (18-3-0) threatened early and often as Budge tallied the eventual game-winner in the 16th minute on a sequence from Huie and Sinclair. Huie serviced a pass that Sinclair tried to chip over WSU keeper Melanie Stratford, who came off her line to diffuse the attack. Stratford slowed down the shot but Budge finished to the open net between two Wildcat defenders. The Pilots nearly broke the game open before intermission, but had two goals called back in the initial 45 minutes. The first came in the 20th minute as Huie's attempt bounced off the left post and Budge finished to an open net, but the strike was negated by an offsides call on Budge. In the 40th minute, Huie lofted a corner kick and freshman defender Emily Michaelson's 5-yard header was called back on a foul call in the box. Huie's 20-yard bullet to the lower left in the 55th minute gave Portland a 2-0 lead, and the Pilots put the game out of reach when Sinclair slotted a shot past Stratford in the 69th minute on an assist from Budge. Portland controlled the match from start to finish, racking up a 29-5 shot advantage with 16 shots on goal. Stratford, the Wildcats senior goalkeeper, put forth a gutsy effort and kept the score reasonable with 13 saves. Pilot sophomore keeper Cori Alexander recorded 80 minutes of shutout soccer and was spelled by fellow sophomore Ruth Gilliam for the final 10 minutes. Portland was able to play 20 players with a comfortable lead and rest some regulars in preparation for its next match against Colorado. Colorado defeated Utah in the first game of the day by a 3-0 margin to advance to the second round. Allie True netted the game winner in the 18th minute and Ellen Falender and Ashlie Mihalcin provided second half insurance goals. #30 West Virginia 2, #24 SMU 1 West Virginia University advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 win over Southern Methodist at the University of Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium. The Mountaineers (15-5-0) got on the board first when an SMU (15-4-3) foul in the 24th minute gave WVU a free kick opportunity from 35 yards out. Service from senior defender Ashley Weimer found freshman Ashley Banks and Banks rifled a shot toward the Mustang goal. An initial save from goalkeeper Amanda Clark deflected toward redshirt freshman Natalie Cocchi and the Ocean Township, NJ, native buried home her fifth goal of the season to give WVU an early 1-0 lead. Southern Methodist evened the match at the 39:18 mark when Autumn Browning sent a through ball between two Mountaineer defenders setting up a one versus one situation with Mountaineer goalkeeper Lana Bannerman and Mustang Olivia O'Rear. O'Rear beat Bannerman to the far post for her fifteenth goal of the season. West Virginia dominated the early goings of the match, earning the first six shots of the contest before taking a 15-3 shot advantage into the half. The Mountaineers finished the contest with 28 shots to the Mustangs four. Twice in the first minutes of the second half, senior forward Laura Kane sent crosses to a charging Banks at the far post, creating excellent scoring opportunities, however both times, Banks missed wide right keeping the score at an even 1-1. Kane gave the Mountaineers a 2-1 advantage at 57:14 when she scored her eighth goal of the season. Off a free kick, Weimer found Kane centered around the 12 yard line. Kane turned and cut to her left to beat the Mustang keeper to the far corner. West Virgnia is now 4-4-0 all-time in NCAA tournament matches and advances to the second round for the third consecutive season. With the win, the Mountaineers are assured of their fifth-straight 15-win season. #26 Texas 3, North Texas 0 Using a 31-shot attack that saw three different players score and limiting the opposition to only two shots on goal, Texas (14-6-2) earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a 3-0 win over North Texas (16-6-1) in front of 1,016 fans during first-round tournament action at Myers Stadium. With the win, which was UT's 11th consecutive triumph at home this season, the Longhorns now advance to play West Virginia (15-5-0) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Myers Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 14. North Texas produced a couple of quality chances within the opening five minutes, but Texas' defense held strong to keep the game scoreless early. The UT offense then began to pressure the Mean Green net with a couple of quality opportunities before senior Kelly McDonald settled consecutive passes from Kelly Wilson and Nicole Breger inside the UNT penalty area in the 26th minute and deposited a shot into the back of the net to produce a 1-0 Horns' lead. Continuing to attack in front, Texas made it a 2-0 game at 41:33 when Wilson took a feed from Nikki Thaden, broke in on the right side and then beat UNT goalkeeper Briana Buchanan inside the far post for her team-leading 15th goal of the year. The Longhorns' defense then held the Mean Green in check over the final three minutes of the first period to head into the locker room on top by two. In the second half, North Texas attempted to cut their deficit in half when Heather Hutyra lofted a shot off the Texas crossbar, but the UT defense held and kept their lead in tact. At that point, the Horns turned up their offensive push and attempted to increase their lead, but Buchanan and the North Texas defense turned aside numerous chances to keep it a two-goal game through 79 minutes. Then, at 79:37, Karen Haight intercepted a clear off a Texas corner kick and weaved a shot through traffic inside the far post for her second career score to push the Longhorns in front 3-0. From there, UT goalkeeper Alex Gagarin and the Texas defense closed out the 3-0 win to earn their eighth shutout of the season, which tied the school single-season team mark set in both 2001 and 2002. While Gagarin earned her seventh win of the year while turning aside two shots, Buchanan incurred the loss despite making a season-high nine saves. Paving the way offensively for Texas was the tandem of Wilson and McDonald, who combined for 10 shots and accounted for three and two points, respectively, on the evening. Meanwhile, UNT's attack was led by Melinda Pina, who fired two of the Mean Green's nine shots. Notably for Texas, while McDonald's game-winner marked the 13th of her career to give her the school career lead in that category, Wilson set the UT single-season marks for both goals (15) and assists (14) with her effort on the night. Up next, the Longhorns square off with the Mountaineers of West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Myers Stadium on Nov 14. Colgate 1, #15 Arizona 0 Colgate entered its' first-round match-up with a quiet confidence that translated into a 1-0 victory over the No. 15 Arizona Wildcats to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Raiders will battle host UConn on Nov 14 at Morrone Stadium. On a cold, snowy evening the Raiders came out of the gate a bit timid as the Wildcats dominated the early run of play. At the 35 minute mark Colgate took over, generating a few good scoring chances against the Wildcats. Finally, at the 28:16 mark, Megan Bergman knocked a loose ball in front into the net to put the Raiders ahead. Carolyn Warhaftig assisted on the goal as her shot was originally knocked away by Arizona goalie McCall Smith. The Raiders kept the Pac-10 champions from generating many chances on the snow-covered and muddy field the rest of the game. Luisa Miller made five saves and recorded her sixth shutout of the season, giving the Raiders nine as a team. She now has a 0.74 goals against average this season. Colgate is 13-6-2 overall and has defeated the Ivy League and Pac-10 champions over the last three weeks. Next up for the Raiders, the Big East champions and host Huskies of UConn on Nov 14. #21 Connecticut 2, Harvard 1 Senior forward Jessica Gjertsen scored both of the Husky's goals as the University of Connecticut (17-6-1) defeated Harvard (8-7-2) by a score of 2-1 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Huskies advance to Second Round action for the 18th time in school history and will face Colgate on Nov 14 at Morrone Stadium. On a cold and snowy night, UConn took a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute on a breakaway goal by Gjertsen. Junior midfielder Kathleen Frank passed the ball up to a streaking Gjertsen who fired the ball past Harvard keeper Katie Shields to put the Huskies up 1-0 going into halftime. In the first half, Connecticut held a 8-5 advantage in shots. UConn also had three corner kicks while allowing none to the Crimson. Gjertsen then gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead at the 84:19 mark when she tallied her second goal of the contest. Fellow senior Lani Fortier was awarded an assist on the goal to collect the first point of her career. The Crimson cut the Husky lead to one when Emily Colvin scored unassisted at 88:35, but it was too little too late as UConn clinched the victory by a score of 2-1 to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. For the game, the two teams were even in shots at 11 each, with Connecticut holding a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. Junior keeper Megan Jessee made six saves for her 17th win of the season. Gjertsen led the team in shots with nine, six of which were on goal. Her two goals increased her season total to 11. Wisconsin 2, #20 Dayton 1, OT Junior midfielder/forward Amy Vermeulen scored seven minutes into overtime to send the University of Wisconsin to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 victory over Dayton. The triumph for the Badgers (16-5-1) kept them perfect in non-conference contests (11-0) and snapped Dayton's (20-2) nation-leading 20-match winning streak. UW will play the Notre Dame-Eastern Illinois winner on Nov 14. Vermeulen almost accounted for UW's regulation goal as well when her free kick was converted by the Flyers' Jen Simonetti for an own-goal, which gave UW a 1-0 lead at 58:05. Sophomore midfielder Kara Kabellis had a game-high six shots, including three (all on goal) in the first half, in helping Wisconsin advance to the second round for the third time in five years. Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Reba Sedlacek was held to just one shot, while Simonetti had none. The latter redeemed herself three minutes after her mishap when Tesha Kozlowski capitalized on her free kick to tie the match. The stalemate resumed for both teams, which had 11 shots apiece, until sophomore midfielder/forward Allison Preiss was able to get the ball to Vermeulen for the game-winning goal, her third of the season. #2 Notre Dame 4, Eastern Illinois 0 Katie Thorlakson had two goals and an assist, becoming just the third Notre Dame player ever to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in a season, as the second-ranked Irish opened NCAA Tournament play with a 4-0 win over visiting Eastern Illinois, in action at Alumni Field. Notre Dame (20-1-1) - which is seeded 4th in the 64-team NCAA Tournament -quickly bounced back from its first loss of the season, scoring in the seventh minute of play when freshman forward Amanda Cinalli volleyed home a Thorlakson corner kick. Thorlakson scored eight minutes later and went on to provide the primary assist on a second-half goal by sophomore defender Kim Lorenzen. Senior Candace Chapman, who split time at left back and forward, then scored 48 seconds later, after racing down the left side and sending a tough-angle shot into the right sidenetting. The Irish racked up a 27-3 edge in total shots (14-1 in shots on goal) and held a 6-0 corner-kick margin, marking the ninth time this season (and fourth in the last five games) that the Irish have not allowed a corner (ND now has allowed just 34 CKs in 33 games, with only 2 opponent CKs in the last 6 games). #3 Virginia 6, James Madison 0 Third-year midfielder Kelly Hammond had a record setting night as No. 3 seeded Virginia downed James Madison 6-0 in a NCAA Tournament first round game on a rainy night at Klockner Stadium. Hammond had three goals and an assist, tying the school and NCAA Tournament NCAA records for goals and points in a game. The Cavaliers (17-2-2) took control of the game early. Hammond notched her first goal of the game in the 14th minute when she intercepted a JMU clearance of a corner kick and blasted a shot into the upper corner from 18 yards out. Although the Cavaliers outshot the Dukes 14-1 in the first half, the score remained 1-0 at the break. The Virginia offense exploded for five goals after halftime. Hammond scored her second of the contest in the 53rd minute when a cross into the box was fumbled by the James Madison keeper in the wet conditions and Hammond pounced on the rebound and placed it in the vacated net. In the 73rd minute, Hammond completed the first hat trick by a Cavalier in three years when Sarah Huffman threaded a through ball into her run and Hammond launched a shot from 20 yards out that hit the under side of the cross bar and fell down into the net. The last Cavalier to have a hat trick was Lindsay Gusick, who scored three times in a 4-0 win over Cincinnati in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Hammond added an assist less than a minute later when she found Noelle Keselica making a run into the box and Keselica fired a shot off the right post and in. In the 86th minute, Shannon Foley made the score 5-0 when she intercepted a pass in the offensive zone, dribbled to 15 yards out and fired one inside the far post. Julia Falk closed out the scoring in the 88th minute with her first career goal. Overall, Virginia outshot James Madison 24-1 in the game and had a 12-2 corner kick advantage. Christina de Vries did not need to make a save to post her 13th shutout of the season. Jessica Hussey made seven saves for the Dukes. The Cavaliers will meet ACC rival Duke in the second round on Nov 14 at Klockner Stadium. The Blue Devils downed VCU 2-1 in the second game of the evening. #19 Duke 2, VCU 1 19th-ranked Duke battled through a cool, rainy and windy evening in Charlottesville, VA, and pulled out a 2-1 victory over Virginia Commonwealth (15-7) to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils (14-7-0) will next face second-ranked Virginia (17-2-2) on Nov 14. Virginia Commonwealth opened the contest with a header by Shelly Lyle off a corner kick from Sandra AngerÝ in the 21st minute of the game to take a 1-0 lead. Duke was able to even the score at the 31:49 mark of the half as a Rams defender sent a pass back to goalkeeper Lauren Hardison, who missed the ball and the Blue Devils got on the board with a VCU own goal.Ý Then, less than two minutes later by the Blue Devils took a 2-1 lead as a VCU defender tried to send a ball out of the box, but it deflected off another Rams defender and Duke's Sarah McCabe sent the ball in the back of the net for her eighth goal of the season.Ý The score would remain 2-1 in favor of the Blue Devils at the end of the first 45 minutes, while Duke held a 5-4 shot advantage. The second half could be chalked up to good defense as the Blue Devils held VCU to six shots and freshman goalkeeper Allison Lipsher added three saves in the stanza. Lipsher, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, finished the game with four saves and improves to 9-6 on the season in the net. Virginia Commonwealth had a few very good chances at goal in the second half with the highlight coming in the 57th minute as Solfrid Anderson blasted a shot that hit the crossbar. For the game, VCU outshot Duke, 10-9. The 14 victories for the Blue Devils this season matches the most wins for Duke under the direction of Church. Last season and in 2000, the Blue Devils won 14 games. Duke has not won more than 14 games in a season since 1994 (17). #11 UCLA 1, Pepperdine 0 UCLA advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, posting a 1-0 victory over Pepperdine (9-7-3) at Drake Stadium on the campus of UCLA. With the victory, UCLA (14-6) advances to the second round and will take on San Diego (12-7-2). Bruin forward Iris Mora scored the only goal of the match at the 80:52 mark. Sophomore Bristyn Davis hit a ball to Mora, who was making a run down the left side of the field. Mora was able to draw out Pepperdine goalkeeper Anna Picarelli and chip the ball over her head and into the goal.Ý UCLA outshot the Waves, 18-8 on the night. Bruin keeper Valerie Henderson made five saves in the game and earned the shutout. Picarelli had eight saves. It marks the third time in the last four years that UCLA has knocked Pepperdine out of the NCAA Tournament, as the Bruins also defeated the Waves in the second round in 2001 and 2003. UCLA has played San Diego once already this season, defeating the Toreros, 4-0 in the season opener for both teams back on Aug 27. #28 San Diego 1, UNLV 0, OT The San Diego Toreros avenged an earlier loss to UNLV to advance into the second round of the NCAA College Cup Tournament. With the match tied 0-0 in the second overtime, Marie-Claude Henry bent a corner kick into the box. Rebel goalkeeper Jenna Huff tried to punch the ball out, but it deflected off a defender's leg and Veronica Ambort used her left foot to drill it into the net from eight yards out. The Toreros improve to 12-7-2 with the win and advance to take on the UCLA Bruins in the second round on Nov 14 in Drake Stadium. UCLA had defeated Pepperdine 1-0 in the earlier match to advance. Play started out fairly even, with UNLV posting the first two shots of the match. San Diego posted its first shot in the 29th minute with Leigh Ann Robinson sending a shot towards the top of the goal, making Huff leap to make the save. The Toreros had another great opportunity in the 31st minute as Amy Epsten dribbled past the Rebel defense and around the goalkeeper. She just barely missed the empty goal as the ball rolled into the side of the net for a goal kick. Shannon Sullivan and Michelle Rowe also added shots, with USD holding a 4-2 shot advantage at the break. The Toreros had several more opportunities as play continued in the second half. In the 62nd minute, Epsten ran down the far side of the field past UNLV's defense and just missed high and left of the goal. Less than two minutes later, Henry drilled a shot from 30 yards that sailed just high. Although USD dominated play for most of the second half, the Rebels created an opportunity in the final minutes. UNLV had their first corner in the 89th minute and created a scoring opportunity. The Rebel's Erica Frizzell managed to get free in the box after the corner and missed on a shot just left of the goal. With the match scoreless and headed to overtime, San Diego held a 9-4 advantage on shots and 10-1 advantage on corner kicks. The Toreros were still confident going into overtime. USD had a great opportunity once again in the first overtime. Forward Michelle Rowe sent a shot past the goalkeeper that was headed right towards the center of the net, but UNLV defender Codi Schumaker was there to knock it away for the save. The Rebels also had an opportunity in the first overtime as Angie Inzana took a cross and missed high and right on an open shot. That was the last great scoring opportunity until the Toreros finally capitalized on Ambort's game-winning goal. #13 Tennessee 2, Furman 0 Senior forward Lyndsey Patterson tallied a goal and an assist and freshman forward Emily Redberg found the back of the net for the third time during the postseason as the No. 13 Tennessee Lady Vols (16-4-2) defeated the Furman Lady Paladins (14-9), 2-0, and advanced to the NCAA Second Round. The Orange & White will face the winner of the match between Wake Forest and UAB. UT dominated the Purple & White by a 31-5 margin on shots, while forcing 12 corner kick opportunities to Furman's one. Furman opened the contest on the attack as the Lady Paladins controlled the early offensive opportunities and registered four of their five shots over the opening 22:40 of the match. The Purple & White just missed tallying an important early goal as forward Andre'a Morrison took a run up the right wing and fired a shot that drifted just wide but remained in play. Midfielder Anna Betton raced in on the right side of the box and blasted a shot that deflected off UT's Jenny Jeffers standing in the mouth of an otherwise open goal. UT's defense swooped in to clear the ball out toward the midfield. After a shot by Furman's Tara Marker was saved by Tennessee goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart, the Lady Vols began to sustain an offensive attack of their own. Three consecutive corner kicks for UT resulted in shots by Redberg and Keeley Dowling that were saved by Furman's netminder Andie Hinshaw. The Lady Vols would add eight more shots on goal, three of which were saved by Hinshaw, over the final 15 minutes of the half but were unable to get on the board. Out of the halftime break and arguably fortunate to be knotted at 0-0, the Lady Vols continued their assault on the Furman goal in hopes of tallying the match's opening score. Senior Kayla Lockaby had shots at 48:41 and 54:01 that forced the Lady Paladins' Hinshaw to make saves, and Patterson unleashed a blast that was saved by the Furman team out in front. After nine consecutive shots by UT, without Furman putting a ball in on UT netminder Phillips-Bosshart, Patterson scored on the Orange & White's 10th as she took control of a pass from senior midfielder Sue Flamini and launched a shot that beat Hinshaw on the right side for her third goal of the campaign. Tennessee continued to blast the ball in on the Furman net as the Lady Paladins failed to register a single shot over the final 52:07. In the 87th minute, Patterson made a strong run up the right wing and fed a perfect pass to Redberg racing in from the left side. The rookie beat Hinshaw for her seventh goal of the campaign and third of the postseason (counting SEC Tournament) for a 2-0 Lady Vol advantage. UAB 2, #23 Wake Forest 0 UAB looked extremely comfortable in its inaugural NCAA Tournament game and that comfort level translated into a historic win as the Blazers shutout Wake Forest, 2-0, at the UT Soccer Complex to win their first NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the second round to face host and No. 11 national seed Tennessee. The Blazers (16-5-1) won their eighth-straight match and won for the 12th time in the last 13 matches. UAB will meet Tennessee for the first time in regular-season play. The Blazers blanked the Lady Volunteers, 4-0, in an exhibition match last season. UAB earned its eighth shutout of the season which ties a school record for shutouts in a single season. Wake Forest's season ends at 10-7-2. The Blazers took an early lead in the match as senior Briana McCarty rifled a direct kick into the back of the net past a wall of Demon Deacon defenders. The goal, which was scored just 3:58 into the match, came after a Wake Forest penalty as a Demon Deacon player passed the ball back to Wake goalkeeper Heather Currie inside the box and Currie picked it up, which merited a penalty. Freshman Jill Porto tapped the ball to McCarty who found the net. UAB made it 2-0 at the 35:33 mark as senior midfielder Liz Bosscher sent a shot from 30 yards out which sailed over Currie's head into the net. The goal was Bosscher's fifth of the season, and all five of her goals have come in the last five games of the season. Wake Forest took 11 shots in the first half but UAB goalkeeper Katie Forbis made four saves in the period. Forbis made a fantastic save to maintain the Blazer lead with just over 22 minutes remaining in the first half as she leapt across the center of the net and caught Lindsey Jaco's header. Defender Pam Cooney knocked away another Demon Deacon shot at the left post at the 14-minute mark as the Blazers dodged another bullet. The Blazers allowed 26 shots by the Demon Deacons but as has been the case for the better part of the season, UAB's defense was air-tight and did not allow a score. UAB took only eight total shots and five on goal, but scored on two of them. Tennessee blanked Furman, 2-0, in another game to advance to the second round match to face UAB. The Lady Vols (16-4-2) and Blazers will play for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 on Nov 14. Detroit 3, Michigan 2 After staking themselves to a 3-0 lead in the first half, the Titans held off a Michigan attack for a 3-2 win in the first NCAA Tournament game in program history in Columbus, OH. Detroit got on the board via an Allison Epple PK in the 14th minute for an early 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, the Titans were called for a foul in the 18 yard box and the Wolverines were awarded the PK and senior goalie Alisson Dube stopped the UM shot and kept it 1-0 in favor of Detroit. The Titans added goal number two off a Mandi Jasky assist to sophomore Kathy Banjavcic. Jasky fed the ball ahead to Banjavcic who blasted a shot from about 15 yards out that beat the UM keeper to her right for a 2-0 lead. UDM added goal number three before the intermission, again from the foot of Banjavcic, this time finishing off a rebound of a Judith Atwood shot that the UM keeper dropped for the 3-0 Titan edge. Coming out of the halftime break, the Wolverines started to bring the play to the Titans, out shooting the Titans 13-1 in the second half. UM got on the board in the 52nd minute on a goal from Judy Coffman directly off of a corner kick for a 3-1 score. The Maize and Blue made it a one goal game with 84:07 gone by on a goal from Melissa Dobbyn that just eluded the hand of Dube for a 3-2 score. The Titan defense shut down the Wolverines and gave Detroit their first NCAA win in the history of the program. Detroit takes on the winner of the Ohio State and Bowling Green match. #8 Ohio State 2, Bowling Green 0 Ohio State (17-3-3) blanked Bowling Green, 2-0, in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Lara Dickenmann and Danielle Dietrich both netted second-half goals to extend Ohio State's current win streak to seven matches and setup a second-round meeting with Detroit on Nov 14. The Titans topped Michigan, 3-2, in the first match. The Buckeyes had numerous scoring chances in the first half, mounting a 17-1 advantage in shots. Dickenmann and Carla Arbulu both narrowly missed putting the Buckeyes on top as Dickenmann fired a shot past an extended Bowling Green keeper, but BGSU defender Julie Trundle made a back save and then followed with another back save when Arbulu gathered Dickenmann's carom and fired a shot of her own. The Buckeyes finally struck on their 19th shot of the match in the 55th minute as Dickenmann fed Dietrich in the center of the 18-yard box. From there, Dietrich turned and deposited her 11th goal of the season to give Ohio State the 1-0 lead. Dickenmann, the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, upped the OSU lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute, advancing across the BGSU zone and burying her 13th score of the year from the left side of the 6-yard box. The goal was unassisted. The Buckeyes excelled on the defensive end of the field Friday as well. Senior goalkeeper Emily Haynam earned her 14th victory of the season and her seventh shutout. She finished with four saves. The Buckeye backline limited to the Falcons to five shots total en route to recording Ohio State's 11th shutout of the season. For the match, Ohio State totaled 34 shots against BGSU's five and owned a 10-5 edge in corner kicks. The win serves as Ohio State's second in NCAA tournament play and the second time in the last two seasons the Buckeyes have reached round two of the tournament. The goal by Dietrich gives Ohio State three players with at least 11 goals and 30 points this season. Dietrich, who now has 30 points on the season, joined Dickenmann (37 points) and Lisa Grubb with 31 points. #29 Villanova 2, Yale 1 Senior forward Laura Johnson turned away from a Yale defender and blasted a shot from just over 20 yards into the top right corner of the net with 11:33 remaining in the game, lifting Villanova (14-5-2) to a 2-1 victory over Yale (13-5-0) in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Championship from a soggy and cold Lourie-Love Field. Johnson scored early and late to lift the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third time in the last four years. She netted the game's first goal just 39 seconds into the game to give Villanova a quick 1-0 lead. Freshman midfielder Melissa Murowski tapped the ball towards Johnson in the game's opening moments, and Johnson then broke away from the back and beat the Yale goalkeeper in a 1-on-1 situation. After that opening goal, the teams played nearly even throughout much of the first half, but late in the period momentum began to swing towards the Bulldogs. That momentum eventually led to a goal with 8:52 left in the half, as Stephanie Delvecchio took a pass from Jamie Ortega and aimed a shot into the right side of the net to even the score at 1-1. Yale began the second half with the same level of intensity it finished the first period with, and nearly took the lead in the 53rd minute. On a Bulldog breakaway, a Yale forward dribbled in for a 1-on-1 encounter with Wildcat sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Loyden, but Loyden came out of the net and picked the ball off the feet of the Yale player for one of her six saves. Loyden then preserved the lead in the 81st minute when she reached up to push a hard shot by the Bulldogs over the net. The play yielded the only Yale corner kick of the game, but Loyden pushed the corner attempt out of harm's way, allowing Villanova's defense to return the ball downfield. With the Bulldogs attacking at full force to find an equalizer, the Wildcats sent the ball deep into Yale territory with just under four minutes remaining. Then, in an outstanding display of ball control, Villanova kept possession of the ball for nearly the entire rest of the game, never allowing Yale to get anywhere close to the midfield as time trickled down. Yale had one throw-in with under a minute remaining, but the Wildcats immediately took back possession. The final 10 seconds counted down as the Villanova bench celebrated the victory. Villanova's defense was in its usual top form, as starting defenders Michelle Biehl, Laura Koch, Kristin Anderson, and Valerie Grow kept a potent Yale offense at bay for much of the game. The Wildcats outshot the Bulldogs 14-11 for the evening, and had an 8-1 edge in corner kicks. #9 Princeton 5, Central Connecticut State 0 Esmeralda Negron scored two goals and added two assists to lead seventh-seeded Princeton to a 5-0 win over Central Connecticut State University in front of 325 at Lourie-Love Field. The game was played in temperatures in the mid-30's and heavy rain throughout. The win advanced Princeton to the second round, where the Tigers will face Villanova, a 2-1 winner over Yale in the first game of the doubleheader. Villanova defeated Princeton 2-1 in last year's NCAA opening round, and Princeton defeated Villanova 1-0 earlier this season. Princeton, one of 17 teams playing in the Division I tournament for at least the sixth straight season, built on two school records with its 16th win over the season and 16th straight win at home. Princeton is now 16-2, while CCSU ended its season at 11-10-1. Negron scored her first of the night at the !0:17 mark of the first half, and Emily Behncke made it 2-0 28 seconds later on an assist from Negron. The lead would grow to 4-0 by intermission as Kristina Fontanez scored once and Negron added another. Romy Trigg-Smith sealed it with a goal of her own 2:38 after intermission, off an assist from Negron. Fontanez also had an assist. Negron, the Ivy League Player of the Year, set the Princeton single-season record with her 10th and 11th assists, and she is now second all-time in assists at Princeton with 17. She also added to her other school records as she now has 19 goals on the season, 49 points on the season, 46 goals in her career and 109 points in her career. Princeton outshot CCSU 30-3. Blue Devil goalkeeper Ashley Ferra made 11 saves, while Princeton 'keeper Madeleine Jackson did not have to make any. UCF 3, #10 Florida 2 Kendra Flock scored her fourth game-winning goal of the season to help lead the UCF Golden Knights (17-3-2) over the number 10 seed University of Florida Gators (16-4-3) 3-2. The last time UCF won in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament was in 1999 when they defeated Furman 1-0 in Greenville, SC. Throughout the first half of play, UCF dominated ball position staying on Florida's side of the field. The Golden Knights took their first shot of the afternoon just nine minutes into the game when Becca Eshelman fired a bullet from the center of the goal box into the arms of Florida's goalkeeper Jen Gardner. Allison Blagriff answered Eshelman's bullet with one of her own that ricocheted off the crossbar during the 19th minute of play. UF challenged the UCF defenders JoAnna Black, Jessica Hallgren and Kelsey Kravec half way through the first half when Ashley Kellgren took two shots, both of which were saved by UCF's Julie Snaman. Montgomery took her first shot of the afternoon at the 34:26 mark sending it wide past the goal. Less than four minutes later, Florida took three shots with the end results of one wide, one saved and one high. The day began to turn more in UCF's direction after Florida's Ashley Harris fouled Flock in the goal box. Courtney Baines came in and punched in her fourth penalty kick of the season to make the score 1-0. The teams went into intermission with the Gators leading in shots (5-4), corners (2-1) and fouls (11-9). Snaman had three saves for the Golden Knights in the first half. Florida came out of the break taking two shots within the first two minutes of play. Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Montgomery scored her seventh goal of the season unassisted. UF's Christine Johnson tried to answer Montgomery's goal but shot the ball high over Snaman's head. At the 54:15 mark, Flock scored the game-winning goal after heading a pass from a Baines' corner kick. UF tried again during the 60th minute to score but was unsuccessful. UCF came back and took three shots within the next five minutes with two of the shots high and the other wide. Less than two minutes later, Florida challenged Snaman again only to mishandle the ball and kick it over the goal. The Golden Knights tried to score again by taking three shots in just 64 seconds with the first shot by Kate McCain hitting off the crossbar, the second by Blagriff that was saved by Florida's goalkeeper Gardner and the third off the leg of Hallgren into the arms of Gardner. Florida came back with less than 10 minutes left in the game to score two goals and give the UCF faithful a slight scare. UF's Stephanie Freeman scored the first goal on a free kick after UCF committed one of their fouls on the afternoon. Monica Hoyles of Florida answered Freeman with a goal of her own with an assist from Jasmine Johnson. The goal gave new life to the Florida fans that had weathered the rain all afternoon. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched throughout the game with Florida holding a slight edge in shots (13-12) and corners (4-3). UCF's Snaman had four saves for the afternoon while Florida's Gardner had two. The Golden Knights' defenders played a hard game working on keeping the Florida offenders out of the backfield and away from the goal. Black showed how aggressive she could be in the first half by tripping a Florida offender and receiving a yellow card. With the victory, it marked the first time since the University of Florida officially added women's soccer as a recognized sport that UCF has won. UCF will play the winner of the Florida State and Boston College game on Sunday, November 14 in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in Gainesville. #27 Boston College 0, #17 Florida State 0, 3-1 PKs BC After 110 pressure-filled minutes of scoreless soccer, Boston College and Florida State needed penalty kicks to decide the outcome of their first-round NCAA Tournament match in Gainesville, FL. It was the first matchup between the future ACC rivals, and if it proves as any indication of what others will be like, it was the beginning of an intense rivalry. Both squads played with fiery passion, evident in the defensive struggle that characterized the entire contest. No. 17 Florida State (12-5-3) was selected to kick first in the sudden-death shootout and Katie Beal gave the Seminoles a 1-0 lead as she beat BC senior goalkeeper Elyse Meredith to the left. Meredith, the Eagles penalty-kick specialist, entered the game after the second overtime period, spelling junior Kate Taylor, who had two saves on the night. The No. 27 Eagles (14-6-1) answered right back as sophomore Jenny Mauer fired a rocket past a diving Joy McKenzie to even the count at one. The next three shots were missed, paving the way for freshman Kia McNeill, who beat McKenzie to the top right corner of the goal. McNeill's tally brought BC within one shot of reaching the second round and gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead with each team having two kicks remaining. FSU midfielder Camie Bybee had a chance to even the score at two but Meredith, true to her role as shot-stopping specialist, denied the attempt. Bybee hammered a shot that was headed for the bottom right corner of the goal when a diving Meredith laid out and deflected the ball away from the net. The Eagles would have two chances to win the game but would need just the first. Maddie Johnson, the third Boston College freshman to take a penalty kick, was unfazed by the tense circumstances. Johnson stepped up to the ball and beat McKenzie to the right, giving the Eagles a 3-1 deciding edge and their first berth in the second round since 1999. The game-winner tasted even sweeter for Johnson, who had a great look at the FSU goal in the 79th minute. After Laina Ceddia clipped the right post, the rebound bounced to Johnson's feet. The freshman fired on goal, but missed high, and the game remained in a deadlock. The missed opportunity by the Eagles came less than ten minutes after FSU had its best chance to score. After a rare breakdown by the BC defense, the Seminoles had two good looks at the goal. With Taylor on the ground after diving for a ball, freshman Katie Coffey protected the goal, notching BC's second team save of the night. Thirty seconds later, Mary Schneck saved another goal, continuing the stellar play of the BC defense. The Eagles refused to allow Florida State any scoring opportunities in the first half. Sophomore Molly Dane was active in the back for the Eagles as she clogged up the Seminole passing lanes and prevented their offense from creating any chances. Schneck and Dane were joined in an outstanding defensive effort by Coffey and Lindsey McArdle. Coffey's sliding tackle on freshman Holly Peltzer at 52:11 stopped an FSU breakaway and preserved the tie. #12 Washington 5, Birmingham-Southern 0 Seniors Tina Frimpong and Nikki Gamble each scored two goals as 12th-ranked Washington equaled its most convincing postseason victory ever with a 5-0 triumph over Birmingham-Southern in a first-round NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament game at AU Soccer Complex. Washington (15-4-1), the tournament's No. 15 seed, remains in Alabama to meet host Auburn, in a second-round clash. The 16th-ranked Tigers defeated Clemson 2-0. This is the Huskies' eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and the fifth time they advanced past the opening round. Washington's longest foray into the playoffs was a Sweet 16 appearance in 2000. They defeated Montana in the second round by the same 5-0 margin they posted over Big South Conference champion BSC (12-8-3). The Huskies created several dangerous chances early, including a shot off the right post by Kim Taylor in the 22nd minute. Six minutes later Taylor helped the Huskies finally break through the packed-in Birmingham defense. Taylor fired a 17-yard shot that was deflected by Panther goalkeeper Andria Gray. Frimpong collected the carom and pushed it inside the right post at 28:48. The same two UW forwards combined for a second goal at 35:56. Taylor sent a long, low pass into the area. Frimpong slid and touched the ball just past Gray and inside the left post from seven yards away. Frimpong, who was just announced as the Pac-10 Player of the Year for the second straight season, increased her school scoring record with her 41st career goal. She also added to her UW records with 94 points and 17 game-winning goals. Frimpong is the only repeat winner of the league's top honor as she shared 2003 Player of the Year honors with UCLA's Nandi Pryce. UW went ahead 3-0 before halftime on Gamble's 42nd-minute goal. Senior Kelley Schweighart streaked down the left flank and passed to freshman Katy Dowling at the goal line. Dowling sent the ball across the goalmouth and Gamble booted it into the ball surrounded by several defenders. Senior defender Nicole Martinez netted her first goal of the season off a corner kick in the 53rd minute. Freshman Colby Branham served a ball into the box that Martinez emphatically headed in from 12 yards out. Gamble capped the scoring with her 10th goal of the season. She received a pass from freshman Dana Stirn and slid a shot toward goal that trickled inside the left post. Gray was credited with six saves for the Panthers (12-8-3) who were outshot by a 19-8 margin. Sophomore Kelsey Rasmussen registered four saves for the Huskies who blanked their third straight opponent. Rasmussen has eight shutouts this season and 11 for her career. #16 Auburn 2, #22 Clemson 0 No. 16-ranked Auburn tied its record season-high win total with its 15th victory of the year with a 2-0 shutout of Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Auburn Soccer Complex. Forwards Courtney Crandell and Chrissy Culver provided second-half scores for the Tigers as they defeated Clemson for the first time in five tries in the school's history. Crandell put Auburn on the board 1-0 in the 67th minute, taking an assist from Ashley Eason down the left side for her fifth goal of the season. Crandell's goal is her fifth of the season and third game-winner. Culver notched her eighth goal of the season in the 80th minute on a header from five yards out to wrap up the scoring at 2-0 Auburn. Jac Schwarz assisted Culver on her goal off a corner kick. Clemson outshot Auburn 6-5, while Auburn was able to outshoot the visitors in the second half 4-3. Each team received two saves from their respective goalkeepers and also notched two corner kicks apiece. The shutout was the seventh on the season for Auburn goalkeeper Megan Rivera, a first team All-SEC selection, and was the team's eighth blanking of an opponent in 2004. Auburn moves on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year where it will meet the No. 12-ranked Washington Huskies. The Tigers will be looking for their first ever NCAA second round victory as well as their first triumph over a Pac-10 school.The match will mark the first meeting between the Tigers and Huskies. Maryland 3, Loyola MD 1 Mallory Mahar scored one goal and assisted on two others to lead the University of Maryland to a 3-1 victory over Loyola (Md.) Friday night at Jeffery Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The first of those opportunities came in the ninth minute when Simone Dekker tossed a throw-in to Nataly Arias on the right side of the Loyola defensive zone. Arias was able to turn on her defender and find Mahar who deposited the ball into the left side of the Greyhound net to give the Terps a 1-0 lead. Loyola regained its composure and built some momentum. Sophomore goalkeeper Nikki Resnick stopped two of the three Greyhound shots on goal in a 14 minute span in the middle of the first half. But the Terrapin defense refused to give in and was able to stay the Greyhound attack long enough for Maryland to regroup and regain the momentum late in the first half. The Terps opened the second half just like they did the first, on the offensive. Mahar picked up her third assist of the season in the 53rd minute when she sent a long pass into the Loyola defensive third to freshman Kelly Rozumaski. Rozumalski was able to gather the ball, beat two defenders and fire a shot from 30 yards out that sailed into the top right corner of the net. The goal was the third of the season for Rozumalski and was two months to the day since her last goal, which came in Maryland's 2-1 win over No. 3 UCLA on Sept 12. With a two goal lead the Terps continued to pressure the Loyola defense. Stevie Dunning had a shot ricochet off the crossbar in the 61st minute and Dekker fired the rebound off the left post. But Dekker wouldn't be denied that easily. The junior midfielder took a pass from Mahar in the 69th minute deep in the left side of the Loyola zone. Dekker dribbled through the penalty box and into the six-yard box, where she fired a shot that deflected off Greyhound keeper Kate Gilfillan and into the net for a 3-0 lead. Maryland, which improves to 8-6-4 on the season, advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will face host school, and No. 2 seed, Penn State on Nov 14 at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions defeated Binghamton 6-1 to advance. #4 Penn State 6, Binghamton 1 The No. 2 seed Penn State Nittany Lions defeated Binghamton, 6-1, in NCAA first round action at Jeffrey Field. The Lions will advance to meet Maryland for a second round match-up. Sophomore Jean Rettig played an outstanding game for the Lions, and recorded the game-winning goal in the 11th minute of play. Two own goals in the first half, in addition to Rettig's goal gave Binghamton a mountain to climb in the second half that it proved to be too high a hill for the Bearcats to top. The onslaught of Penn State goals continued in the second half, with M.A.C. Hermann trophy candidate and All-American Tiffany Weimer netting a goal in the 57th minute. Seniors Sophie Hiler and Brooke Mertz added two more goals to make the final tally a 6-1 Lion victory. Penn State's Erin McLeod got the win with four saves, while Bearcat keeper Kristie Bowers took the loss, despite compiling 10 saves. Penn State will be making it's seventh straight appearance in the NCAA second round on Nov 14 when it meets Maryland, who earlier in the evening beat Loyola (Md.), 3-0. The Lions and Terps met earlier this season on Jeffrey Field, with Penn State getting the 6-0 victory. ECAC Tournament Semifinals Columbia 3, Niagara 0 Columbia overcame Niagara and terrible conditions to post a 3-0 win in the semifinals of the ECAC tournament at Baker Field. The Lions, hosting the tournament, scored twice in the first half via Aubrey Medal and Shannon Munoz and added another Munoz goal in the second for the victory. The Lions will face the winner of LIU and Fordham on Nov 13. With a cold, hard rain falling all day in New York, the Lions and Purple Eagles fought it out in the mud, causing problems for both teams and officials. Columbia got the first good chance of the match after ten minutes. Bailey Schroeder picked up a loose ball in the middle of the field and sent a long pass to the corner for Munoz. Munoz out ran an Eagle defender and cut in towards the goal, but her shot went directly to keeper Katy Owings. The Lions threatened again after 20 minutes as Munoz whipped a cross across the goal mouth that Lindsey Knowles, one of the fastest players on the team, was not able to reach due to the field conditions. The mud played a factor again two minutes later as a Munoz corner kick landed inside the six yard box. Emma Judkins would have volleyed the ball into the back of the net had the ball bounced, but it remained stuck in the mud and Owings dove on top to prevent the opening goal. The Lions made amends five minutes later as Bailey Schroeder sent another ball down the wing for Munoz who crossed just out of the reach of Owings. Aubrey Medal pounced and punched it in for her first goal of the season. Columbia doubled the lead in the 33rd minute as Judkins picked off a Niagara pass before sending a perfect through ball to Munoz at the top of the box. The second team All-Ivy forward took one touch to get past her marker and slotted home beautifully just inside the far post. Columbia spent the second half showing off the defense that enabled them to go a school record five matches without giving up a goal earlier this season as Niagara attacked looking to equalize. First-year keeper Allison Vespa made three great saves in the second frame handling the poor conditions like a veteran. In the 60th minute she smothered a shot from Sarah Campbell as the ball bounced awkwardly off the muddy ground. Campbell had received a cross from Brittany Bisnott and fired first time, but couldnít get past the Lion keeper. Vespa kept the Lions up two a couple of minutes later as well. Bisnott, the MAC Rookie of the Year, broke free for her best chance of the night, but Vespa charged off her line and made a fine diving save. Bisnott, who scored 15 goals this season, was stifled for much of the night by the intelligent and poised marking of honorable mention All-Ivy defender Cathleen Cimino and senior defender Lauren Nussbaum. Shannon Munoz and Aubrey Medal put the Lions up three in the 65th minute. Medal collected a loose ball in midfield and passed down the middle intended for Munoz. The ball deflected off a Niagara defender right into the path of Lions attacker who fired home a great shot past the keeper for her tenth goal of the season. Vespa preserved the shutout with two minutes remaining in the half by making a diving save to her right denying Emily Montgomery. Long Island 2, Fordham 1 Long Island rallied from a goal down to defeat Fordham, 2-1, in the semifinals of the ECAC tournament. The Blackbirds' goals were scored by sophomore forward Nicole Lopez as both teams struggled with the cold, rainy and muddy conditions at Baker Field in New York. Fordham jumped out to the early lead as Leah Jerome scored her fifth goal of the season. Beth Purcell sent a free kick from more than 40 yards out into the LIU box where a missed clearance was picked up by Jerome. The Ram sophomore was able to loft the ball into the upper right corner of the net from three yards out. The Blackbirds equalized after 29 minutes through Nicole Lopez. Meghann McCormick made a nice run through midfield before passing down the right side to Lopez. With Fordham keeper Alessandra Cacciotti charging out, Lopez was able to chip the ball up and into the net for her fifth goal of the season. Lopez put the Rams ahead in the 34th minute as she cleaned up a fumbled save. Fab Rezayat sent a ball from midfield to Caley Troutman. Troutman fired a shot from 20 yards out that Cacciotti stopped, but fell as she did. The ball rolled free of Cacciotti's grasp and Lopez was there to pounce and punch it home. The half ended with the Blackbirds up, 2-1. The second half saw more even back and forth play from the two squads. Long Island had a good chance to go up by two, but Allison Andreano's sliding effort to latch onto a Selima Berisha cross hit the post and deflected out. For the Rams Leah Jerome was denied by Stephanie Kansky's diving stop. The rebound deflected to Beth Purcell who's shot was cleared off the line by a Blackbird defender. In an impressive display, both teams played hard until the final whistle despite field conditions that had degenerated into a muddy mess. In the end, neither side could break through in the second half and the game ended at 2-1 to Long Island. The Blackbirds will face host Columbia in the ECAC Tournament final on Nov 13. 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