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Second Half
Goals Lift Pointers in NCAA Opener
Box Score
The UW-Stevens Point
women�s soccer team overcame windy and rainy conditions with three second
half goals to oust Macalester 3-0 in an NCAA Division III first round
match Wednesday in Stevens Point, Wis.
After a scoreless first half, the Pointers
(15-3-3) took less than a minute to score in the second half.
UW-Stevens Point�s Jenny Bruce took the ball down the end line and
passed to Kelly Fink, whose shot was saved by Scots� goalie Lisa Bauer.
However, the rebound landed on the head of Megan Frey, who sent it into
the net for a 1-0 lead.
�That goal was so huge for us,� Pointers� coach
Sheila Miech said. �We practiced all week on looking across the goal to
the far post and even talked about it halftime. We missed some of those in
the first half, but executed perfectly right away in the second.�
The Pointers added another goal less than nine
minutes later when Melissa Becker collected a turnover and drilled a
20-yard shot over Bauer�s head into the upper corner.
Trailing 2-0, Macalester (13-5-3) substituted a
pair of forwards into the game and pushed its entire team forward.
However, the Pointers were able to clear the ball and Bruce sent a long
pass ahead to Fink, who scored on a breakaway. Bauer came well out of the
goal to stop the break, but Fink made a move past her and scored her 21st
goal of the season with an easy tip-in with 23:45 left.
UW-Stevens Point held off the Scots for
the remainder of the game in posting its 12th shutout of the season. Macalester had several quality chances in the first half, including two
shots that hit the post. The Scots outshot the Pointers 14-12, including
6-2 in the first half.
It was the first time the Scots have lost an
NCAA tournament match by two goals or more in 10 all-time appearances.
UW-Stevens Point also eliminated Macalester from its most recent trip to
the postseason with a 1-0 win in 2000.
�I said that the start of the year that our goal
was to be as strong as we can be at the end of the year,� said Miech,
whose team lost to Macalester 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 14 in Stevens
Point. �Right now it�s making me happy.�
The Pointers advance to their sixth straight
regional semifinal and play at Loras on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Dubuque,
Iowa. The Pointers beat the Duhawks 5-2 in last year�s regional semifinal
in Stevens Point.
�We have to stay focused every round,� Miech
said. �Macalester�s a great team and to play that well against a team like
that is a great way to start the tournament.� |
