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Washington 1 - U.A.B. 0 (OT) - The Pac. 10 Conference Champion Washington Huskies advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament when Junior Defender Bryn Ritchie scored the winning goal during the fourth overtime period. The goal came off a corner kick that was put into play by Mark Hogenhout. Ritchie made a well timed run to the near post and flicked the ball just inside the right side of the goal during the 141th minute of play. It was a well executed corner kick created by the accurate ball played by Hogenhout and the decisiveness of Ritchie in using the little space available to him to direct the ball into the net. Sophomore keeper Chad Olsen had six saves for the evening and recorded his sixth shutout for the Huskies this year. Credit U.A.B. keeper David Clemente with 12 saves and an excellent effort to keep the Blazers in the match. Washington Coach Dean Wurzberger said after the contest “Sometimes these first round games can be the most difficult in the whole run.” - “You get by that first one and you can move on. It’s a big step for us to get by this one because the 0-0 (penalty kicks) could have gone either way.” A crowd of over 1,000 braved temperatures in the low 30’s to watch the game at Huskie Soccer Field in Seattle. U.A.B. Coach Mike Getman graciously stated after the match “This was two very good teams playing a very good soccer game.” Washington is now 14-5-0 and U.A.B. concluded their season at 14-5-2.
Indiana 4 - San Jose State 0 - Indiana from the Big Ten Conference defeated San Jose State from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face the University of Washington. The Hoosiers gave the Spartans their first loss of the season and ended an outstanding season for Coach Gary St. Clair’s San Jose State squad. Indiana came out prepared to play and took the 1-0 lead just four minutes into the game with Pat Noonan getting the goal from 15 yards out off a nice assist from Justin Taber. Indiana made it 2-0 fifteen minutes later when Matt Fundenberger headed in a free kick received from teammate Ryan Mack. Indiana continued to dominate play during the second half with their third goal coming off of a set piece out of a corner kick. Marcus Chorvat got the assist and John Swann the goal. The final Hoosier score was a combination play with Noonan getting the assist and Ryan Mack the score. Indiana is now 14-6-0 overall and San Jose State concluded their season with a 21-1-1 record. The difference in the game came down to the fact that Indiana was able to convert their opportunities to score into goals and the Spartans from San Jose State were not. Spartan midfielder Jorge Martinez summed it up after the match when he stated “We’ve been creating chances all season and taking advantage of them. I had the chances I’ve had in other games but couldn’t put them in.” A crowd of over 1,300 was in attendance for the match which was played at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara. As expected, Indiana played with confidence and poise. Ryan, Noonan, and Fundenberger definitely came to play. T. J. Hannig had six saves in goal for the Hoosiers and was credited with the shutout. Indiana played solid team defense and although San Jose State outshot them 21-11 they were able to keep them off the scoreboard. Indiana next faces the University of Washington. Regardless of the outcome of this one, credit San Jose State with a great 2000 season.
Kentucky 0 - St. Louis 0 - Kentucky advances on penalty kicks 4-2 after four scoreless overtime periods. Kentucky traveled to St. Louis to face the Billikens from St. Louis University and got the win to advance to the second round of the NCAA tourney for the first time is school history. Wildcat keeper Brian O’Leary had a great game in goal for Kentucky making 11 saves in regulation and stopping two p.k.’s. Both teams had opportunities to score during regulation but were unable to convert them. St. Louis keeper John Politis was solid in goal for the Billikens. After the contest St. Louis Coach Bob Warming indicated “I’m proud of out team, because we played well and left it all on the field today.” Soccer can be a cruel game, because we didn’t lose this game. That was on of the best goalkeeping performances that I ’ve ever witnessed, though.” Kentucky Head Coach Ian Collins stated “We’ve played three of the teams that were ranked No. 1 this year, and Saint Louis is the equal of any of them.” - “But I’m also proud of my team, because they showed a lot of heart. We knew we weren’t going to come into Saint Louis and dominate. That’s not going to happen.” A crowd of over 2,125 fans were on hand at Robert R. Hermann Stadium to watch the match. St. Louis ends the 2000 campaign with a record of 13-3-3. Kentucky improves to 11-8-2 and advances to second round action to face a tough S.M.U team.
Stanford 4 - C.S. Fullerton 0 - Stanford came out attacking and took control of this one early to advance to the second round of NCAA Tournament play. Corey Woolfolk started strong for the Cardinal scoring on a breakaway a little more that a minute into the game. Woolfolk got the hat trick as he added two more goals within the first twenty minutes of the match. Derek Shanahan tallied the 4th Cardinal goal during the 22nd minute of the match and this one was all over but the shouting. Shanahan also had two assist and Ryan Nelson and Matt Moses each had one. Adam Zapala recorded his 15th shutout of the year in goal for the Cardinal. Stanford is now 17-2-1 and C.S. Fullerton closes out the 2000 season at 15-6-1. The Cardinal appear focused on the task at hand and are playing very solid soccer.
S.M.U 2 - IUPUI 0 - This one was played at Westcott Field on the campus of the S.M.U. Mustangs before a crowd of around 300 fans. With the win the The Mustangs improve their overall record to 18-4-0 while the Jaguars from IUPUI close out what has to be considered a very successful 2000 soccer campaign with a record of 11-9-2. This was the Jaguars first NCAA appearance but you can count on them being back again in the future. IUPUI head coach Steve Franklin commented after the game “We brought in a very gutsy team - about four weeks ago, nobody predicted that we would even be here. This was not just any other game. We’re taking our baby steps. We’ve only been in the NCAA Division I arena for three years.” S.M.U. applied a great deal of pressure during the first half of play and controlled the pace of the game. Super Sophomore Diego Walsh, who is having an excellent year for S.M.U., broke the scoring ice so to speak when he found the back of the net during the 28th minute of the match off an assist from teammate Mohamed Fahim. The Mustangs controlled the pace of the first half but Walsh’s goal was their only score during the first stanza as IUPUI netminder Armando Femia made the saves he needed to make to keep his team in the game. S.M.U. made it 2-0 seventeen minutes into the second half when senior midfielder Matt Whiteley followed up on a rebounded shot to return it neatly into the back of the net. Credit junior forward Mohamed Fahim with the assist on that one also. SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman summed it up for his squad when he stated “We played very well. We moved the ball well and early. I was happy with our defense. Offensively, Diego was special tonight. He always creates opportunities for us.” Coach Hyndman has a stable full of capable midfielders including Carl Bussey, Matt Whiteley, Diego Walsh, Bret Corbin, Kevin Hudson, Wade Fraser, and Bryan Doi. Up top Luci Gonzales and Mohamed Fahim are very effective. The back line consists of Kevin Friedland, Crunch Brown who transferred to S.M.U. from Charlotte, Toti Suarez, and junior keeper Byron Foss. The Mustangs now face the University of Kentucky in second round action. The Wildcats defeated a very capable St. Louis team from Conference U.S.A. in p.k.’s. If they stay focused S.M.U. should be able to get by the Wildcats but the stakes at this point are very high and to take Kentucky for granted would be a very big mistake. Count on Coach Hyndman making that point clear to his young but experienced Mustangs. |
