The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros defeated the UCSD Tritons on Friday night to take the NCAA Division II Western Regional title in women’s soccer. The game, which was tied 2-2 after regulation, ended in a 4-1 penalty kick shootout. It was a physical game that was played in a thick layer of fog that covered the field the entire night.
CSUDH Forward Brooke Thompson led the way for the Toros with one goal during regulation, adding another during penalty kicks.
The close finish was no surprise from either side. Coming into Friday night’s game the all-time series was tied 16-16-4.
“It always seems to be a [close game],” said Coach Joe Flanagan after the game. “A team may go up and look good early, and then the other team comes back. These two teams are like a heavy weight match.”
The Tritons dominated time of possession in the first half, but neither team was able to score. It was the physical play of the Toros that kept the score even through the first 45 minutes of play.
UCSD came out noticeably flat in the second half, and the Toros took advantage. CSUDH scored twice in the first five minutes of the period (48’, 50’), once off a free kick and then off of a sloppy play from UCSD that ended up an own goal.
“Unfortunately that little four-minute spell to start the second half put us behind.” UCSD Coach Brian McManus said.
However the Tritons made a tremendous comeback late in the second half behind their star sophomores Sarah McTigue and Anne Wethe.
But it was nothing that shocked CSUDH.
It was the impressive play of Goal Keeper Allison Ruvalcaba that really gained attention Friday, even from Coach McManus.
“Give their keeper a bit of credit. She guessed the right way three times [during penalty kicks], and they weren’t kicked quite hard enough. She’s been a hero.”
Her own coach had even more great things to say about the junior keeper:
Friday night’s game will be remembered for all of the missed opportunities that UCSD had. The Tritons dominated possession for most of the game, and even though they were winning all of the one-on-one matchups, they could never seem to finish the play.
Coach McManus was not afraid to say after the game who he thought was the better team.
More from Coach McManus about his team’s ability:
The Tritons will have a lot to build on going into the 2010 season. They are a very young team without any seniors.
“We started out super young, I mean 14 freshmen, 10 sophomores, and 3 juniors,” said McTigue after the game. “We pulled it together really well and I’m really excited for next year.”
With their win Friday, CSUDH will continue on to the Elite 8 and face #13 West Texas A&M at 12pm on Sunday to determine who will go to the Final Four in Tampa Bay in early December.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was a disappointing night all the way around for UCSD sports on Friday. The women’s volleyball team, ranked #3 in the country, saw their bid for an NCAA Division II championship come up empty, suffering an upset loss to Cal State L.A. in the semifinals of the West Regionals. Meanwhile, Chris Carlson’s men’s basketball team blew a 12 point second half lead, losing their season opener to Western State in overtime, 71-63.
