Bulldogs Advance to Central Region Championship in Shootout
November 12, 2017
MANKATO, Minn. – SWOSU Soccer moved on to the NCAA Central Region Championship for the first time in school history after advancing past No. 2 seed Minnesota State on Sunday in dramatic penalty kicks. The Bulldogs wouldn't have got there had it not been for a ball fired off of the foot of Ashlyn Collier in the 56th minute that gave SWOSU its much needed equalizer.
Collier chested a throw-in pass from Erica Brunet, turned, took a step towards the bouncing ball and delivered a line drive strike that soared to the top left corner of the goal and past a diving Maverick keeper into the back of the net. The score answered the Maverick's first half goal that had MSU leading the match 1-0 up until that point.
Minnesota State struck first in the 27th minute after a pass near midfield setup MSU's Morgan Cottew on a long run, barely edging the trailing SWOSU defenders. Cottew waited as long as she could and then kicked the ball past Bulldog keeper Lexie Bates for the Maverick's first and only score of the day.
Despite the conceded goal, Bates put in work guarding the net all afternoon and did her best to keep the Maverick's attack quiet for the rest of the match – and the junior did just that. Bates grabbed three saves in the second half and handled countless threatening balls around the box, ensuring the MSU score stayed at one.
After neither team was able to end the contest in either overtime period, the match came down to penalty kicks. SWOSU sent Lauren Williams, Sarah Wilson, Sandra Nabweteme and Alimata Rabo out to kick and each one of them put their ball into the back of the net with relative ease.
Meanwhile, Minnesota State missed kicks on their second and fourth attempts, which opened the door for the Bulldogs to claim their shootout victory. Rabo stepped up needing a successful attempt to send SWOSU on to the Central Region Championship, and the GAC Offensive Player of the Year did just that with a low kicked ball to her left that had MSU's keeper leaning the wrong direction.
No. 6 SWOSU now advances to take on No. 1 Central Missouri with a Central Region Championship on the line. The match will take place in Warrensburg, Mo. on Friday, Nov. 17 at UCM's home field and at a time still to be determined. The Jennies earn the right to host due to their higher seeding in the bracket.
Reader Comments(0)