SEATTLE ? Freshman
midfielder Shelby Wong scored from seven yards out with 6:44 remaining
in the second overtime to lift the UC San Diego women's soccer team to
a 1-0 victory over BYU-Hawaii in a NCAA Division II West Regional
matchup Thursday night at Seattle Pacific's Interbay Stadium.
Seeded third among the six teams in the West
Region, the Tritons (15-3-4) advance to the second round where they
will face No. 2 seed and host SPU Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Falcons
(17-1-2) had a bye in the first round.
The sixth-seeded Seasiders, who came in as the Pacific West Conference champions, saw their season come to a close at 14-5-0.
A through ball from fellow rookie Sarah McTigue helped set up Wong's
first-career score. Playing on the right wing, McTigue delivered the
ball deep into the box, where Wong beat Seasider goalkeeper Becky
Ploeger one-on-one for the only goal of the match.
“It was fitting that Shelby was the one who finished it off,” head
coach Brian McManus said. “She had missed a good chance early on but
did everything right on the game-winner. She got the ball down, took a
touch, got a look to see where the keeper was and then drilled it past
her.”
Wong is one of several freshmen to step up lately
for UCSD. Anne Wethe and Courtney Capobianco scored a goal apiece in
the Tritons' 3-1 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the CCAA
Tournament Championship last Sunday. McTigue registered an assist in
that game, as well.
“We've got a lot of veteran players struggling with injuries and the
freshmen really stepped up again tonight,” McManus added. “We're going
to need our younger players to keep playing well if we want to move
forward."
UCSD outshot BYU Hawaii 18-14 for the game. The Tritons took the
matches' first seven shots before the Seasiders got their offense
untracked. BYU outshot UCSD 5-2 in the two overtime periods.
Senior goalkeeper Jessica McGovern finished with four saves on the way
to her 11th shutout of the season, while Ploeger made six stops in a
losing effort for the Seasiders.
UCSD moves on to face an SPU squad that has not lost at
home since September of 2006, going 25-0-2 in their last 27 matches at
Interbay Stadium.
