Women's Soccer Earns Trip to Ninth College Cup
Nov. 30, 2002
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University women's soccer team will make its ninth overall appearance in the College Cup after earning a 3-1 victory over Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament this afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium. Santa Clara improves to 19-4-1 overall. Michigan's season ends with a 16-7-1 mark. The Broncos, the 2001 National Champions, are the tournament's sixth overall seed, and will travel to Austin, Texas, for the semifinal round of the 21st NCAA Championship. The College Cup will be held at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus the University of Texas next Friday, December 6. The Broncos will play in the later game, which has a 4:30 p.m. Pacific start time. Santa Clara will face North Carolina, 3-0 winners over Texas A&M in another quarterfinal contest. The Tar Heels improved to 21-1-4 with their win on Friday. "We're really excited," senior midfielder Aly Wagner said. "This was our goal and we achieved it. The College Cup is an amazing event and it's something you want to go out in-one way or another-as a senior. I'm looking forward to it and I think our team is ready for the challenge. We've proven that we're pretty strong mentally, and physically as well." The match was very physical through most of the first half, but the Broncos found a gap midway through, scoring twice in 2:04 to take a 2-0 lead at halftime. Senior midfielder Devvyn Hawkins notched her fifth goal of the season when she redirected Wagner's corner kick into the goal, using a head that received 11 stitches just two weeks ago against Arizona State.
Junior Veronica Zepeda scored in the 37th minute when sophomore Bree Horvath had a great touch on the ball. Zepeda used some dribbling skills to maneuver around three defenders before taking her shot, a left-footed score to the near post.
Late in the second half, Zepeda was tripped in the box, setting up Wagner's penalty kick and a 3-0 lead. Michigan countered in the 86th minute when Kate Morgan scored off of Amy Sullivant's corner kick. Michigan's Abby Crumpton reinjured her right ankle with about six minutes remaining in the first half and saw limited action in the second period. The Broncos, ranked fourth in the country, are making their 14th straight NCAA postseason appearance. Santa Clara received an at-large berth in the 2002 Tournament after earning a share of the West Coast Conference Championship on November 9. Pepperdine, by virtue of a tiebreaker, earned the league's automatic bid. |
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