• Sweet Sixteen
The 12th-ranked UC San Diego women’s soccer team (16-2-3) continues its run for the 2010 NCAA Division II title with a match-up against No. 9 Seattle Pacific (16-1-2) in the West Regional championship on Thursday, Nov. 18 at St. Edward’s University Soccer Field in Austin, Texas. Kickoff is set for noon, Pacific Time (2:00 p.m. Central). The West Region championship will follow the South Central Region championship match between St. Edwards (16-1-2) and Central Missouri (19-0) at 9:00 a.m. PST. The Tritons advanced to the third round, commonly referred to as the “Sweet Sixteen” due to the number of teams remaining in the tournament, by way of a 1-0 victory over No. 2 seed BYU-Hawaii on Nov. 13 in Waipahu, Hawaii. The winners of the South Central Region and West Region will meet at SEU Soccer Field for the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 11:00 a.m. PST, jockeying for a trip to the Final Four in Louisville, Ky. (Dec. 2-4).
• Mind if I Watch?
Actually, the NCAA does... There will be no webcast of these NCAA playoff games. Triton fans can follow the UCSD-SPU match through Live Stats at: www.stedwards.edu/ustat/womens_soccer.php. The SEU-UCM will also be available to follow live via Live Stats.
• How Did We Get Here?
UCSD advanced to the third round by way of a pair of victories over San Francisco State and BYU-Hawaii in the tournament’s first and second rounds. On Nov. 11, the Tritons avenged a CCAA semifinal loss to SFSU with a 3-1 drubbing of the Gators in the opening round. Shelby Wong, Courtney Capobianco and Ellen Wilson scored goals for UCSD. Two days later, Wilson would connect on the game’s only goal in the 15th minute against BYU-Hawaii, sending UCSD to Austin to face top-seeded SPU in the Sweet Sixteen.
• “Foe” the Familiar Falcon
Seattle Pacific is a familiar foe for UCSD, as the Tritons have met the Falcons exculsively in NCAA Tournament matches in their short postseason rivalry. SPU eliminated UCSD on its national title run in 2008 in the tournament’s second round, 3-1. In 2006, the Tritons took down the Falcons, 3-0, to take the Far West Region championship. UCSD’s win in ‘06 avenged a 2-0 loss to SPU in the 2005 Far West Region final.
• Bird Watching
The Falcons come into Thursday’s match equipped with a nine-match winning streak dating back to Oct. 9. SPU has outscored opponents 27-6 during that span. 2010 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Maddie Dickinson has logged 343:07 career scoreless postseason minutes in goal, including 108 minutes against West Florida in the 2008 NCAA title game. The Falcons are a perfect 8-0 in road games this season and have not lost a match in which they have scored first (15-0), led at halftime (11-0) or scored more than one goal (15-0). Forward Megan Lindsay leads the SPU attack, scoring six times in her final four games of the regular season to push her goal-total to 11 on the year. The Falcons have scored two or more goals in 15 of 19 matches in 2010.
• Wilson Makes Sure Timing is Right
Ellen Wilson scored consecutive game-winning goals in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships against San Francisco State and BYU-Hawaii. She broke a 1-1 tie in the 66th minute against SFSU on Nov. 11, slotting home a goal off a Triton corner kick. Two days later, Wilson would net the only goal of the match in the 15th minute, as the Tritons took down the Seasiders, 1-0. All three of Wilson’s goals in 2010 have been game-winners and she currently leads the team with 1,960 total minutes played.
• The More the Merrier
Members of the UC San Diego women’s soccer team have been hit with a litany of postseason awards in 2010, the most recent being senior defender Lisa Bradley and junior forward Sarah McTigue’s placement on the Daktronics Women’s Soccer All-West Region Team. Bradley was named to the First Team while McTigue was named to the Second Team. A total of seven Tritons were named to All-CCAA squads, highlighted by Annette Ilg who was named the CCAA’s Newcomer of the Year. Junior goalkeeper Kristin Armstrong, junior midfielder Anne Wethe and Bradley were all named All-CCAA First Team for the second consecutive season. Junior midfielder Shelby Wong and McTigue were selected to the All-CCAA Second Team, marking the second year in a row each has made that particular All-CCAA squad. Hayley Johnson took home honorable mention honors.
• Sign of the Times
UCSD enters Thursday’s match unbeaten in 15 of its last 16 contests, shutting-out 10 teams and outscoring opponents 27-6 within that span. Triton goalkeeper Kristin Armstrong tallied five shutouts over the final five regular season matches while leading a UCSD defense that allows a mere .55 goals per game, second-best in the CCAA.
• He’s the McMan
UC San Diego head women’s soccer coach Brian McManus was named the coach of the Division III Women’s Soccer 25th Anniversary Team, it was announced by the NCAA on Nov. 2. McManus compiled a 230-28-19 record in 13 years at the Division III level while winning five national championships and nine regional titles. Former Triton standouts Carrie Peer (1992-95) and Eleanor “Ele” Johnson (1993-96) were also named to the team, earning spots on the 11-member player roster.
www.ucsdtritons.com
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