Butler, Wright State advance in Women's Soccer Championship

Nov. 3, 2007

(#4 seed) Butler 2, (#5 seed) Valparaiso 0 Box Score
Indianapolis, Ind. - Lindsey Fox gave Butler the lead midway through the first half and then added an insurance goal in the second period to lead the Bulldogs past visiting Valparaiso in the first round of the 2007 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship at the Butler Bowl. The win sends Butler (10-8-1) into the tournament semifinals on Friday, Nov. 9.

The match between the fourth-seeded Bulldogs and fifth-seeded Valparaiso figured to be the most even match-up of the tournament, and for 30 minutes it played out that way. Both teams mounted early attacks, but the defense was up to the task at both ends of the field, and neither team managed a serious scoring threat.

That ended just under 36 minutes into the contest with a picture-book goal by Fox. Charging up field, the Butler forward corralled a loose ball and volleyed a shot past Valparaiso goalkeeper Erin Murray and into the upper right corner of the net from 25 yards out. It was her fourth goal and first game-winner of the season.

The Bulldogs maintained that 1-0 lead into the second half, when Fox struck again at 62:42. She took a pass from sophomore Carrie Twyman in the middle of the field, split two defenders and fired a shot into the right side of the goal from 18 yards out. It was her first multiple-goal match of the season.

From that point, Butler's defense held off a comeback attempt by the Crusaders (10-9-0). Butler goalkeeper Annalise Larkin stopped three shots by the Crusaders in the final 20 minutes, including two point-blank attempts by junior Kendall Brown. Four of Valparaiso's five second-half shots came in the final 20 minutes.

Larkin finished with four saves on the afternoon, while Murray had two. The Bulldogs, led by Muir's four attempts, had a 12-8 advantage in shots. Butler also had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.

(#3 seed) Wright State 6, (#6 seed) Detroit 0 Box Score (PDF)
Dayton, Ohio - Wright State opened up Horizon League Championship play with a 6-0 victory over the sixth-seeded Detroit Titans. The third-seeded Raiders tallied three goals in each half and held the sixth-seeded Titans off the scoreboard to set a school record for wins in a season, with 13.

Wright State got the scoring started in the 17th minute when JessRooma connected from the top of the 18-yard box. The junior First TeamAll-League performer set a shot into the top corner of net to give WSUan early 1-0 lead. Assisting on the goal was a pair of All-NewcomerTeam selections, Jen Agueci and Amber Kasmer.

The Raiders kept the pressure on and connected on another tally justfive minutes later when Kasmer corralled a long pass from Mattioda andsent a one-touch pass to Amy Miller in the box. Miller then sent ablast into the back of the net from 18 yards out. Mattioda and Kasmerwere each credited with an assist on the goal. Then in the 28th minute, Agueci netted a goal of her own when she stole the ball from a Detroit defender and tallied an unassisted marker.

The Raiders then started the second half with a quick goal, this timeoff the head of Rooma. Mattioda teed up a corner kick and sent itsailing towards the six-yard box. Rooma dove towards the ball andheaded it past a diving UDM keeper. The assist was the second of thematch for Mattioda and the goal was the second of the day for Rooma.

The fifth goal was scored when Mattioda sent a long pass towards thegoal and freshman Jenna Cooper headed it into the net at the 55:47mark. It was the second goal of the year for Cooper and gave Mattiodaher seventh assist of 2007. The scoring was capped in the 84th minute when freshman Trisha Stevens hit a ball from 30 yards out and snuck it into the upper corner of the goal. It was the first career goal for Stevens and gave WSU their first six-goal match since 2004 when they defeated Cleveland State by a score of 6-0.

In the match, WSU held the edge in shots (15-8), shots on goal (9-1)and held a slight edge in corner kicks (2-1). UDM keepers made threesaves in the match and the two teams combined for only 16 fouls in thecontest.