Nov. 8, 2007
PROVO, Utah - Behind two second half goals from junior All-American Katie Larkin, No. 3-seeded BYU eliminated the second-seeded San Diego State women's soccer team from the Mountain West Conference Championship with a 2-0 victory in the semifinals on Thursday in Provo, Utah.
The Cougars improve to 16-3-2 overall and advance to Saturday's MWC championship match against the top-seeded UNLV Rebels. While technically playing as the road team in this game due to being the lower seed, the Cougars now own a 10-1-1 record when playing at South Field on their home campus.
The Aztecs end a remarkable season that saw them surpass their 2006 win total by three games and earn their highest seed in the conference tournament since 1999. SDSU finishes the year with a 9-8-3 overall record.
"This loss is obviously a disappointing end to the season," head coach Mike Friesen said. "I'm not disappointed at all with how we played today, rather that this was my last chance to coach this group of women.
"This group is very special, especially for me being the first team of my head coaching tenure."
The game's two goals by Larkin both came within a six-minute span early in the second half after each team was unable to push across a score in the opening 45 minutes. Larkin would score her 14th goal of the season in the 52nd minute when she was able to get behind a pair of SDSU defenders and take a pass from Kassidy Christenson and kick the ball to the right side of the net just past the outstretched hands of Aztec goalkeeper Aubree Southwick.
In the 58th minute, Larkin was at it again scoring her 15th tally after she corralled a ball that SDSU's Allie Crowson knocked away from Christensen and was able to place it in the back of the net for third time this tournament.
"Larkin is great player who we always try to make sure we are aware of were she is," Friesen said. "Her first goal was created by BYU being able to break our cover and Larkin got behind us and made a great shot. On the second goal, the ball took an unfortunate bounce for us right to her."
The Aztecs took 10 shots against the Cougars, but were unable to connect on several quality chances. Junior Alicia Piz just missed answering Larkin's first goal a minute later, but her shot was high over the crossbar from 18 yards out.
"I still felt that after the first goal we were still going to win the game," Friesen said. "If we were able to answer that score on Alicia's shot, things might have been different."
BYU was able to find revenge for SDSU's 2-0 win in San Diego on Oct. 18 behind Larkin and senior netminder Erika Woodbury who broke her own school record in the game with her 13th shutout this season.
Southwick, the MWC Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, made five saves of her own giving her 106 to lead the conference.
The game marked the end of the careers of six Aztec seniors led by Jessica Girdner, who took three shots in this afternoon's contest, and the team's leading goal scorer Jackie Ragudos. The future, however, is bright for the Aztecs who will return nine of eleven starters next season. Friesen's squad will also receive a huge boost by the return of high scoring forward Cat Walker, who tore the ACL in her left knee in the preseason and will have three years of eligibility remaining. All together, SDSU will return 22 of the 28 players from this season's roster.