UNCW Advances To CAA Women's Soccer Title Game
WILLIAMSBURG,
Va. (November 2, 2012) - Third-seeded UNCW advanced past #2 Drexel 4-1 on
penalty kicks after the two squads battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie in the
semifinals of the CAA Women's Soccer Championship on Friday night at Martin
Family Stadium at Albert/Daly Field.
The
Seahawks (12-6-3), who also advanced on penalty kicks following a tie with #6 Delaware
in the CAA quarterfinals last Sunday, will meet the winner of tonight's second
semifinal between #1 William & Mary and #5 Hofstra at 1 p.m. on Sunday in
the CAA title game. It's just the second trip to the finals for UNCW, which
defeated James Madison 1-0 to win the CAA championship in 2009.
Drexel,
which was making its first appearance ever in the CAA Women's Soccer
Championship, saw its season come to an end with a 13-3-3 overall mark. The
Dragons set a school record for overall and conference victories this season.
The
Seahawks were a perfect 4-for-4 during the penalty kicks as Ali Nagle, Lindsay
Henry, Mary Chestnut-Smith and Stephanie Rose all converted their chances.
Drexel hit the crossbar and then the right post with its first two attempts
before Sam Greenfield made the Dragons' third shot.
After
no goals and very few scoring chances over the first 80 minutes of the contest,
both teams got on the board in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
In
the 82nd minute, Rose made a run up the right side and sent a pass
across the top of the box to a wide open Maddie McCormick. The freshman forward
settled the ball and then drove a 12-yard left-footed shot into the right
corner for her eighth goal of the season. The assist was the 12th of the year
for Rose, who leads the CAA with 38 points this season.
Just
over five minutes later, Drexel responded with the equalizer. Following a scrum
at the top of the box, the ball bounced out to defender Melissa Chapman on the
left side. The sophomore one-timed a shot from 15 yards out into the left side
of the goal to tie the contest at 1-1 with 3:23 remaining in regulation. The
goal was Chapman's fourth of the year and marked the 10th time this
season that the Dragons have scored either a game-tying or game-winning goal
with less than 19 minutes to go in regulation.
Drexel
out-shot UNCW 4-1 in the first overtime period and nearly got the game-winner
when Greenfield's shot from 22 yards out smacked the crossbar.
UNCW
appeared to score the game-winning goal with 3:30 left in the second overtime
when Katrina Guillou redirected a long free kick from Lindsay Henry into the
net, but it was waved off after she was ruled offside.
Drexel
had a pair of excellent scoring chances in the final minute of the second extra
session, but UNCW senior goalkeeper Caitlin Hunter made diving saves on shots
by Megan Hammaker and Lauren Stollar to send the contest into penalty kicks.
Drexel
had a 5-3 shot advantage in the first half and nearly got on the board early in
the second period. Junior midfielder Jess Sarkisian received a pass at the top
of the box on the left side and chipped the ball over charging UNCW goalkeeper
Caitlin Hunter, but the shot bounded off the crossbar. With 13 minutes to go in
regulation, UNCW's Rose made a long run up the right side and sent a beautiful
cross to Morgan Leyble, but her header from eight yards out went wide of the
goal.
Drexel
finished the game with a 22-10 advantage in shots. Hunter, a 2nd-team
All-CAA selection, made eight saves for UNCW, while first-team All-CAA
goalkeeper Eve Badana stopped five shots for the Dragons.