Women's Soccer Knocked Out of NCAA's in PKs
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 12, 2011) - Although the contest goes down as a draw, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team was knocked out of the NCAA Division III Championship in penalty kicks, 5-3, by Westfield State University at the De Baun Athletic Complex on November 12. The match ended in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods, but the Owls prevailed in the shootout session to move onto the second round.
The Ducks end their season with a 14-3-4 overall record and went unbeaten over the final 12 matches.
Stevens and Westfield played a tight and evenly matched first half, as the Ducks held a slight 8-6 advantage in shots. The Owls recorded the first strike of the game on a shot by Kayley Miller, but senior Kaitlin McClymont (Corpus Christi, Texas) stopped her first shot out of eight on the day.
In the 10th minute, sophomore Caitlyn Labonte (Northbridge, Mass.) put the first Stevens shot on net which was turned away by Jess Habif. Habif played a tremendous match in goal for the Owls, stopping 15 shots in the draw.
Stevens' first true threat to put a tally on the scoreboard came from senior Kathleen Schuckers (Lincoln Park, N.J.) in the 27th minute. Schuckers brought the ball down the left side of the field and took a strike from five yards out, but a diving stop by Habif kept the game scoreless.
Schuckers once again gave the Ducks an opportunity to score with 10 minutes remaining in the opening half, but her cross was intercepted by a sprawling Habif.
As the second half began, the Ducks seemed to be the more aggressive team on the offensive end. A shot by freshman Mariah Cleveland (Los Gatos, Calif.) 60:36 into the contest was turned away, but just 32 seconds later, Schuckers registered the lone goal for the Ducks on a free kick from 23 yards out.
Over the next 12 minutes of play, Stevens outshot Westfield, 5-0, with only one on target.
In the 76th minute, the Owls brought the ball deep into Stevens' territory and a botched clear attempt bounced over a Ducks defender's head and found the feet of Miller who was wide open on the right side and beat McClymont with the game-tying shot.
Stevens tried to answer back by putting its next three shots on goal, but once again, Habif stopped each attempt, including back-to-back shots by Schuckers in the 80th minute.
Schuckers tried to beat Habif to her left but the ball ricocheted off Habif's hands and off the post right back to Schuckers. Her rebound strike was snagged out of the air by Habif who was still on the ground from her first save attempt.
Westfield tried its own hand at ending the game in the waning minutes, but McClymont made three crucial saves to send the contest into extra time.
In the two 10-minute extra periods, Stevens proved to be the stronger team, outshooting Westfield, 10-2, but Habif once again showed she was the difference maker in the match, picking up six of her saves in the overtime frames.
As the time ticked off the clock to end overtime, the match was headed into a penalty shootout to decide which team would advance to the second round.
Westfield made all five of its attempts as Ashleigh Chretien, Miller, Colleen Bazinet, Maggie Kerr and Katelyn Wood all made their shots.
On Stevens' side, Labonte took the first shot for the Ducks and rang her strike off the post, forcing the Stevens to net its remaining shots. Junior Nicole Serino (Parsippany, N.J.), sophomore Bridgette Barden (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and junior Brittany Odgers (Roseland, N.J.) all tallied shootout goals but were never able to keep the Owls off the board.
Stevens outshot Westfield, 30-17, in the match and held a 12-8 edge in corners.
The Owls move on to played Williams College tomorrow at 1 p.m. after the Ephs defeated Virginia Wesleyan College, 1-0, in the second game of the first round.
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