Nov. 5, 2009
PROVO, Utah -
(3) Utah-(2) San Diego State Final Box in PDF Format
Second-seeded San Diego State earned a spot in the finals of the Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Championships after dropping third-seeded Utah, 2-1, in double overtime on Thursday afternoon at South Soccer Stadium in Provo, Utah. The win extends the Aztecs' unbeaten streak to 14 games and improves their overall record to 13-3-5.
"The girls really pushed hard, and left everything on the field," said SDSU head coach Mike Friesen. "This was a great team effort with a great finish. I couldn't be more proud of our team right now."
SDSU and Utah played to a scoreless draw in the first half of play, which proved to be an evenly played contest. Each team had four shots, while the Utes held a slim 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. Both squads had a handful of open looks, including Cat Walker's wide-open shot that went just to the right of the post and Kelly Isleib's attempt from 25 yards out that hit the crossbar. Despite some tense moments, the teams went into the locker room all square.
The game's momentum shifted quickly to Utah just minutes into the second half as Erin Dalley slotted a shot into the lower left corner of the net past the diving Aubree Southwick to give the Utes a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute.
Trailing in a game for the first time since Oct. 8, San Diego State began applying more offensive pressure, which led to quality possessions in Utah's half of the field. In the 74th minute, the Aztecs started to get into a rhythm as Hayley Marsh's shot went wide. Not two minutes later, reigning MWC Offensive Player of the Week Sarah Halverson, touched the ball past the Utah keeper, then sent the ball through the box to Michaela DeJesus, who had her shot blocked by a sliding Ute player with an open net available.
Nearly three minutes later, first-team all-conference honoree Niki Fernandes, MWC Offensive Player of the Year Cat Walker, Jessica Gordon and Marisa Fraticelli entered the game. The substitutions by league coach of the year Mike Friesen immediately paid off as Fernandes dribbled the ball on the right side, sent a short pass to Walker in the upper right corner of the box, who then scored on a perfectly placed ball in the upper left corner of the net to knot the score at 1-1 with 7:21 remaining in regulation.
With San Diego State clearly in attack mode, the Aztecs appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal in the 85th minute when Jessica Gordon flipped a shot from 18 yards out into the net. The goal, however, was waved off as she was ruled offside and the semifinal game went into overtime.
In the first extra session, SDSU continued to control the pace and nearly earned the Golden Goal in the 96th minute. With the ball headed for the left sideline, Grace Shevlin bicycle kicked it back into the goal box and Gordon nearly headed the ball into the net. On the next possession, Fernandes blasted a shot from 40 yards out that sailed high. In the stanza, the Aztecs limited the Utes to a single shot, while taking three of their own as the match moved into a second overtime period.
As the game turned 100-plus minutes old, each team attempted a shot, but to no avail. In the 108th minute, however, Marsh controlled the ball and sent a long high-arching pass along the left side to Fernandes, who took a couple of dribbles, beat her defender and sent a low pass through the box to a streaking Halverson, who calmly put the game-winning shot away to send the Aztecs into the championship game.
Walker's game-tying score was her team-best ninth goal and 23rd point, while Halverson's second game-winner was her third goal of the year. In her last two outings, Halverson has recorded two goals and two assists. Fernandes, who assisted on both goals, upped her season total to a team-leading seven, while Marsh was credited with her first helper of the year.
Defensively, Southwick made four saves and was a part of a unit that held its seventh consecutive opponent to one goal or less.
As a team, San Diego State outshot the Utes, 18-10, and held a 14-6 advantage after halftime. SDSU also finished with an edge in shots on goal (12-5) and corner kicks (5-4).
The win is the Aztecs' first MWC tournament win since 2005 and their appearance in Saturday's final will be their first since 2004, which coincidently took place in Provo. On a series level, SDSU snapped a 10-game winless streak to Utah. San Diego State's last win over the Utes occurred on Oct. 11, 2001, in overtime on Montezuma Mesa.
SDSU returns to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 7, when it looks to capture its first Mountain West title. The Aztecs will take on top-seeded, tournament host and eighth-ranked BYU at noon MT/11 a.m. PT with an NCAA College Cup berth on the line. The championship game can be seen live on The Mtn.'s website, www.themtn.tv. The contest can also be seen on a tape-delay basis on The Mtn. on Saturday night at 11 p.m. PT and again on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.