LA JOLLA, Calif. - A penalty kick shootout ending in favor of Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday closed the book on UC San Diego's 2009 season, a 15-5-2 campaign highlighted by the rapid development of a young Tritons' squad featuring freshmen and sophomores at 10 of the team's 11 starting spots.
"We definitely grew a lot," said Tritons' sophomore forward Sarah McTigue, who scored three goals in UCSD's two NCAA postseason matches this season. "We started out super young. We pulled it together really well, and I'm really excited for next year."
Equaling its win total from 2008, this year's UCSD squad began the season 12-2. After earning a bye as the second seed in the West Region, the Tritons topped Chico State last week to advance to Friday's NCAA Division II National Championships third-round match with CSUDH.
After the squads entered halftime with the score 0-0, the Toros tallied two scores within the first five minutes of the second half to stun the La Jolla crowd of 963, braving the chilly and foggy coastal weather. UCSD head coach Brian McManus' team embraced the challenge of the 2-0 deficit and bounced back to tie the match with goals from junior Lisa Bradley and sophomore Sarah McTigue.
With neither team scoring in the first and second overtimes, the match moved to a penalty kick shootout. Toros' goalkeeper Alyssa Congdon came up with saves on the Tritons' final three attempts and Melissa Livergood knocked in the deciding attempt, leading CSUDH to a quarterfinal match with West Texas A&M on Sunday back on Triton Soccer Field. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. The winner of Sunday's game will advance to the NCAA D-II Final Four, to be held at the University of Tampa from Dec. 3-5.
"They gave me everything," McManus said after Friday's match. "That team tonight gave me everything. Any other team, down two to zero to Dominguez in the second half, would have buckled. We knew there was time, we knew we could still play. I have no problems with this team whatsoever. They'll come back next year. They'll be a year older and a year stronger."
The best chance for either squad in the first half came roughly 30 minutes in when UCSD sophomore Shelby Wong lined a high shot that Congdon got a piece on, tipping the ball off the crossbar. McTigue gathered the rebound but her attempt sailed just a bit too high.
Toros' forward Brooke Thompson struck first, lining a hard free kick from atop the 18 into the left of the net to put CSUDH on the board at the 47:44 mark. Less than two minutes later off a long throw-in from Thompson on the right side, Tritons' sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Armstrong bobbled the ball and it rolled into the net for the 2-0 Toros' advantage.
"I thought there was four minutes of madness to start the second half," McManus said. "Our goalkeeper made one slip that she'd never make and the ball bounced in."
In a sizeable hole, the UCSD attack found its rhythm. In the 58th minute, freshman Danielle Dixon sent a cross from the left for Bradley, who sent a header over Congdon to trim the lead to 2-1. Later in the half, McTigue, after receiving a low pass from Anne Wethe, worked around two defenders and lifted a shot from 12 yards out over Congdon to even the match at the 77:19 mark.
As the fog continued to creep across the pitch and the crowd's anticipation for another goal heightened, the match progressed to the end of regulation and then on to a second overtime. In that second frame, Armstrong came up with a stop at the 107:33 mark that temporarily saved the contest for the Tritons. As CSUDH midfielder Makenzie Pedrotti dribbled into the box alone on the left side, she then sent a hard shot toward the right of the net. Armstrong barely had enough reaction time to side step left and keep the ball out of the net.
In the shootout, the Toros led off with Paige Peel hitting the left post while Bradley countered with a successful attempt to the left of the net to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead. After Yadira Gomez knocked in her attempt and Congdon stopped Jessica Wi's shot to the right, the tally evened at 1-1. CSUDH reversed the momentum when Thompson sent her shot in left and low while Congdon made another save on Courtney Capobianco's chance. Despite Karina Jahn hitting the left post to give the Tritons a glimmer of hope, Congdon recorded her third-straight stop when she corralled Sara Bolton's line drive to the center of the net. LIvergood nailed home the clinching attempt as the Toros ended up on top in the shootout, 3-1.
