Nov. 18, 2007

Duke Knocks Off No. 13 Georgia; Advances To NCAA Sweet 16

After believing it deserved an invitation to the 2007 NCAA College Cup and not knowing if it would get an at-large bid this past Monday for the selection show, the Duke women's soccer team showed why they were given a second chance on Sunday as the Blue Devils upset 13th-ranked Georgia to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16. The victory for Duke came at the Turner Soccer Complex in Athens, Ga., where the Bulldogs had registered a 10-2-1 overall record this season.

Duke improved to 9-5-7 overall, while Georgia fell to 18-4-2. The Blue Devils will next play Indiana who upset fourth-ranked Purdue in penalty kicks on Sunday. The Hoosiers tied the Boilermakers, 0-0, through two overtimes and then won 4-3 in penalty kicks. Duke and Indiana will play either Nov. 23, 24 or 25 at a site to be determined.

The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time under the leadership of Church and the fifth time in school history -- 1992, 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2007. The last time Duke traveled to UCLA and fell, 2-0.

Georgia came out and dominated the play early on in the first half as the Bulldogs took the first five attempts, but Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher saved the first one and junior Lorraine Quinn saved one on the goal line, while the other three went wide over the first 15:41 of action.

FSU Advances To Round Of 16 With 4-0 Win Over LSU

For the third consecutive year, Florida State will advance into the Round of 16 thanks to a 4-0 victory over LSU in second round action of the NCAA Tournament Sunday afternoon at the Seminole Soccer Complex. FSU got a goal from Holly Peltzer in the 21st minute and then added three second half goals in a span of eight minutes as the Seminoles remained perfect at home pushing their record to 12-0-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

Peltzer scored her third goal of the season and second career game-winner at 20:24 in the first half. The Lake Mary, Fla. native received a cross from freshman Marissa Kazbour at the top of the box, took a dribble to her right and fired a shot into the lower left corner to give the Seminoles an early 1-0 lead. The assist from Kazbour was her second in as many games and fifth of the season.

The Seminoles had their scoring opportunities in the first half but couldn't seem to find the back of the net until Peltzer's goal in the 21st minute. Freshman Sanna Talonen, who led all players with eight shots on the afternoon, saw her first shot off a header go off the left post just four minutes into the game. Amanda DaCosta had a great look from inside 12 yards, but Tiger goalkeeper Valerie Vogler made a tremendous diving save. Kirsten van de Ven one-timed the rebound into the back of the net, but the goal was negated on an offside call. The near misses continued as Mami Yamaguchi nailed a header off the crossbar.

Tar Heels Move On In NCAA Tournament

North Carolina's women's soccer team built a 3-0 lead in the first 61 minutes of the game and went on to beat local rival UNC Greensboro 3-1 in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament at Fetzer Field Sunday afternoon. A sun-baked crowd of 1,207 on an unseasonably warm November afternoon watched as Nikki Washington and Casey Nogueira each scored a goal and assisted on a goal as Carolina improved to 19-3-1 on the season.

UNC advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the 26th successive year and will host 2006 NCAA Tournament finalist Notre Dame next Saturday at 12 noon at Fetzer Field.

UNC Greensboro finished 16-5-1 on the campaign. The Spartans had advanced by beating Memphis Friday night in the first round 1-0 while Carolina advanced with a 6-1 win over High Point Friday night.

Krzysik's 90th Minute Goal Lifts UVa Over W&M

Nikki Krzysik (Clifton, Va.) scored with 14 seconds remaining to give Virginia a 1-0 victory over William & Mary in a NCAA second round match Sunday at Klöckner Stadium. The win propels the Cavaliers into the round of 16 for the third consecutive season where they will meet UCLA.

The teams played to a scoreless first half with each side posting six shots. Both teams had quality chances to breakthrough before the break only to be denied by the keepers. In the second half, Virginia increased its pressure and had the better of play, outshooting the Tribe 15-3. The Cavaliers scored the only goal of the game with 14 seconds to play. A corner kick was played over the box to the far side where Sarah Curtis (Yellow Springs, Ohio) tracked it down. Curtis played the ball to Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.) at the top of the 18-yard box. Sauerbrunn took a touch and fired a shot towards goal that Krzysik, standing inside the 6-yard box, flicked with her head past the keeper and into the net for her fourth goal of the season.

The Cavaliers (13-3-6) outshot the Tribe (15-5-2) 21-9 in the game and had an 8-3 corner kick advantage. Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) made five saves for the Cavaliers to post her 13th shutout of the season, tying Christina de Vries' school record for shutouts in a season set in 2004. The shutout was also the 15th of the year for the Cavaliers, setting a new school record. Meghan Walker made seven saves in net for William & Mary.

Lady Tiger Soccer Team Falls to Tennessee in Double Overtime in NCAA Second Round

The Clemson women's soccer team fell to Tennessee in double overtime in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Sunday. The third-seeded and 15th-ranked Lady Vols scored the game's lone goal in the 104th minute at Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, TN to take a 1-0 win.

The Lady Tigers advanced to overtime for the eighth time this season and finished with a 1-2-5 record in those contests. Clemson finishes the 2007 campaign with a 10-6-5 overall record.

Clemson took 12 shots in the contest to Tennessee's 20 and the Lady Tigers had two corner kicks to the Lady Vols' 12. Senior Ashley Phillips recorded eight saves in goal for Clemson and Tennessee's Jaimel Johnson posted five.

The two teams played scoreless soccer through 103 minutes of play until the 103:27 mark in double overtime when the Lady Vols' Kylee Rossi netted the game winner. Rossi received the ball from Mick Imgram, settled it and shot it into the upper left corner of the goal past the outstretched arms of the diving Phillips.

UConn Sets Deacons Back 1-0 in NCAA Second Round

The No. 4-seed Wake Forest women's soccer was upset by Connecticut 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

The tight game remained scoreless through the first half, but UConn's Elizabeth Eng slipped the game-winner past Wake Forest goalkeeper Amanda Barasha in the 62nd minute. The Huskies will now play Stanford in the Sweet 16 in California.

The Demon Deacons out-shot the Huskies 11-9, but Stephanie Labbe had five saves that helped the Huskies keep the advantage.