Ithaca Season Ends In NCAA Semifinal
San Antonio – The Ithaca College women's soccer team (15-4-3) ended its season in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship Tournament Friday, losing 2-0 to eighth-ranked Wheaton (Ill.). The Thunder, who improved to 23-1-2 on the year, will face top-ranked Messiah Saturday for the NCAA title. The Bombers wrapped up their sixth trip to the “final four”.
Junior goalkeeper Becca
Salant (Holliston/Holliston, Mass.) was
brilliant in goal, stopping 11 shots – two short of her
career-high – including several diving stops as Wheaton, who
has scored 77 goals this season, was held scoreless for the first
53 minutes.
The Thunder outshot Ithaca 28-3. "We had some opportunities that
we never converted into shooting chances or shots on goal,"
explained Ithaca coach Mindy
Quigg.
After an opening 10-minute stretch that saw Ithaca dominate
possession, Wheaton began its barrage of shots with
Salant making four point-blank saves in a span of
about eight minutes.
The Thunder finally broke through Ithaca's defense in the 53rd
minute when a hard shot from the top of the box was redirected
between Salant and the near post.
The Thunder's second goal came after Wheaton was awarded a penalty
kick in the 73rd minute.
The Bombers nearly got on the board in the 86th minute after a
corner kick by junior Julie
Winn (Sutton/Sutton, Mass.); junior
Rachael
Palladino (Lansing/Lansing), the team's
leading scorer with 15 goals and 37 points this year, had two
touches on Winn's long serve into the box.
Palladino, who had two of Ithaca's three shots,
had another effort saved 18 minutes into the second period.
The Bombers were making their 22nd appearance in the NCAA
playoffs; no other team has made more (William Smith, who lost to
Messiah in Friday's first semifinal, also has 22 NCAA playoff
berths).
