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Pointers Fall to
Loras in NCAA Second Round
Box Score
Another outstanding season and three great
careers came to an end on Saturday as the UW-Stevens Point women�s soccer
team fell to Loras 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Division III
tournament in Dubuque, Iowa.
The Pointers, making their sixth straight
regional tournament appearance and seventh straight trip to the NCAA
tournament, finished with a 15-4-3 record. It is the sixth straight year
that UW-Stevens Point has won at least 15 matches.
The defeat also marked the end of the careers of
seniors Jenny Bruce, Kelly Fink and Andrea Oswald, who compiled a 73-12-5
record during their four seasons. Bruce ended her career ranked 11th in
Division III history with 53 career assists, while Fink ranked 11th
nationally in career points with 235 and 12th in career goals with 98.
Oswald scored the team�s lone goal on Saturday and totaled 93 points in
her four-year career.
Loras avenged a 5-2 loss to UW-Stevens Point in
last year�s regional tournament and extended its unbeaten streak to 21
straight matches. The Duhawks are now 20-1-1 and host Puget Sound (Wash.)
in the regional final on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Loggers eliminated Chapman
(Calif.) 1-0 in the other regional semifinal match.
Oswald staked the Pointers to an early lead at
the 12:18 mark with a direct free kick that curled inside the post for a
1-0 lead. It was the first time Loras had trailed in a match since Sept.
20, but the deficit didn�t last long as the Duhawks scored just 2:13 later
on a goal by Danielle Gaydusek to tie the match.
Loras took the lead at the 25-minute mark on a
goal by Michelle Wieser and put the Pointers in the unfamiliar position of
playing from behind. UW-Stevens Point had trailed just 72 minutes all year
with 58 of those coming in the first match of the year at St. Thomas.
The Duhawks made the deficit even tougher with a
goal by Julie Sapko 11 minutes into the second half, however, the Pointers
kept the pressure on with 11 second half shots. Loras goalie Erin Hall
came up with six second half saves to preserve the lead.
The three goals matched last year�s output by
St. Thomas and the total by Cal.-San Diego in 1994 as the most UW-Stevens
Point has ever allowed in a postseason match. Loras held a 19-17 advantage
in shots as Melissa Meister made seven saves for the Pointers, who lost
for just the eighth time in their last 80 matches and are now 67-8-5 over
the span. |
