NCAA TOURNAMENT RUN STARTS ON SUNDAY: After a first round bye on Friday, the No. 6 West Florida women’s soccer team will start its NCAA Tournament run against No. 17 Tampa at home on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. UT defeated North Alabama 2-1 in overtime in Pensacola on Friday, and the Spartans will face the home team on Sunday for the right to advance to the third round.
NINE IN A ROW: Not counting the hurricane-shortened 2004 season, this year marks the ninth straight year that UWF has made it to the NCAA Tournament. The Argos have appeared in the NCAA postseason 10 total times with a record of 9-8-2, and the team’s top performance came in 2008 as the Argos finished as the national runner-up. UWF has made it to the NCAA semifinals two years in a row, as the team was eliminated on penalty kicks in the semis after finishing with a 1-1 tie against Cal. State-Dominguez Hills. UWF finished the 2009 season undefeated at 22-0-1.
ARGONAUTS VS. SPARTANS: UWF has seen a lot of Tampa in the NCAA Tournament, especially in recent years. The Argos have faced UT in the postseason three times, defeating the Spartans in the second round in 2005 and 2008 while losing in the second round in 2006. West Florida has also visited the UT campus the last two years for the NCAA Championships, and the 2006 meeting between the teams also was held at Pepin Stadium in Tampa.
SCOUTING TAMPA: The Sunshine State Conference champions have won seven games in a row, including wins over ranked opponents Florida Tech and Rollins. The Spartans have allowed just two goals over that span, and on the season they have posted a goals against average of 0.69. Freshman goalkeeper Leah Cesanek has played every minute for Tampa, posting 11 shutouts with 55 saves. The Spartans’ attack is led by Luana Miessa with seven goals, and Courtney Peffley has dished out 13 assists.
UWF VERSUS RANKED TEAMS: Tampa comes into the postseason ranked No. 17 in the country, and the Spartans will be just the second ranked opponent for West Florida this season. The only other ranked opponent for UWF was Rollins, who was ranked No. 21 in the early season match in Pensacola. Rollins came out on top with a 3-1 win in that game.
ROAD TO LOUISVILLE: On the other side of the region, Rollins will host Florida Tech in an NCAA second round match on Sunday at noon ET. The winner of that game will advance to the third round and face the winner of Tampa-West Florida. The top remaining seed from the South Region will host the third round and quarterfinals next weekend, as the two remaining teams from the South will combine with the two remaining teams from the Southeast for a four-team tournament on Nov. 19-21. The winner of that weekend’s matches will advance to the NCAA Championships on Dec. 3-5 at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.
THREE IN A ROW: West Florida won its third straight GSC championship and seventh total at the conference tournament last weekend. After a 5-0 win over Harding in the semifinals, the Argos survived two overtimes and penalty kicks against North Alabama to come away with the title. UWF and UNA were tied 2-2 after 110 minutes, and penalty kicks went to nine rounds before Alexis Pugh clinched the win for the Argos with a successful attempt.
TOURNAMENT HEROES: Shakira Duncan was named the Most Outstanding Player at the GSC Tournament, and she also earned her second straight selection to the GSC All-Tournament Team. She was joined by four teammates on the all-tournament team: Alexis Garrand, Tina Murray, Jodi-Ann Robinson and Noha Saleh.
PENALTIES IN THE POSTSEASON: UWF’s 5-4 win in penalty kicks over North Alabama in the GSC finals was just the third time in school history that the Argos have decided a game on penalties. The first came in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, as UWF advanced on penalties after a 1-1 tie against Saint Leo. Last year, UWF advanced to the NCAA semifinals but fell in penalties to Cal. State-Dominguez Hills. This year’s GSC championship game marked the first time in conference history that a game went into penalties.
ALL-GSC TEAM: UWF took home seven All-GSC first team honors, led by Shakira Duncan, the 2010 GSC Player of the Year. The six other players were all first time All-GSC honorees: Alexis Garrand, Monica Malavassi, Tina Murray, Jodi-Ann Robinson, Noha Saleh and Jordan Stone. Joe Bartlinski also took home his third career GSC Coach of the Year honor.
NCAA SCORING LEADERS: West Florida is by far the leading scoring team in Division II women’s soccer, as the Argos entered this week averaging 4.35 goals per game. Saint Rose ranks second in scoring average at 3.76, followed by defending national champion Grand Valley State at 3.75. The Argos finished 2009 as Division II’s top scoring team as well, finishing at 5.04 per game and a school record 116 goals. In the individual rankings, Shakira Duncan is trying to repeat as NCAA scoring champion, and she leads the way with 3.55 points and 1.5 goals per match.
GSC DOMINANCE: Not only did UWF win a third straight conference title, but the Argonauts went undefeated in GSC regular season play for the sixth straight season going back to 2003. The team’s last GSC regular season loss was Oct. 24, 2003, a streak spanning 49 games. The Argos outscored the opposition 28-4 in GSC play this season.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Shakira Duncan broke Dernelle Mascall’s school record in career goals, as Mascall was the previous leader at 56 and Duncan now stands at 63. Duncan is also the school’s all-time leader in points with 150, surpassing Mascall who finished her three years with 146. Duncan now ranks third in GSC history in goals and points. Missy Gregg of Christian Brothers is the conference and Division II record holder with 135 career goals and 287 career points.
SOPHOMORE SENSATION: Jodi-Ann Robinson has scored 19 goals this year as a sophomore, which ranks her in the top seven individual seasons in UWF history. The most goals by a sophomore in UWF women’s soccer history was Dernelle Mascall with 24 in 2007.
FANTASTIC FRESHMEN: Alexis Garrand, Kaitlyn Kutemeyer and Ann Ilin Osland have each played major roles for UWF in their freshman seasons. Garrand, an All-GSC first team player, has totaled five goals and 10 assists this season. Kutemeyer and Osland each have five goals apiece as well. All three players are a big part of the team this year and for years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment