Women’s Soccer First Round Scoreboard (Nov. 3)
(3) Oakland 1, (6) Cleveland State 1 (Oakland 8-7 PKs)
(4) Green Bay 3, (5) Youngstown State 1
(3) Oakland 1, (6) Cleveland State 1 (Oakland 8-7 PKs)
Oakland outlasted Cleveland State in penalty kicks Monday night to advance to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament. The Golden Grizzlies will play second-seed Detroit on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET in Valparaiso.
After both teams scored within three minutes of each other early in the first half, the final 92 minutes of regulation and overtime were scoreless to setup penalty kicks.
The penalty kick round started with Cleveland State making a change at goalie. The Vikings replaced All-League Second-Team selection Sarah Wood with sophomore Sierra Davis. Both teams connected on their first two shots, but Oakland gained an advantage on the third shooter as Erin O’Toole’s shot deflected off the crossbar. The Golden Grizzlies connected on their third and fourth shot and had a chance to end the match but Davis denied Joan Sieja to keep the Vikings alive.
The sudden death portion of penalty kicks started just like the first round of penalty kicks as both teams first two shooters connected. Cleveland State’s Megan Barrick saw her shot hit off the post in the eighth round, but Oakland again could not capitalize as Davis made her second save in penalty kicks, this time stopping Katrina Stencel’s shot to keep CSU in the match.
Oakland finally won in the 10th round as Katie Bainbridge’s shot went over the crossbar and Mia Leibold beat Davis to the left post to send the Golden Grizzlies to the next round.
Oakland struck first in the contest as Alice Palmer scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 14th minute. The sophomore forward stole the ball from CSU and then beat Wood, burying the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
The Vikings struck back quickly as Allie Sieradzki scored a little more than three minutes later to even the match.
Oakland controlled most of the match as the Golden Grizzlies dominated possession. Oakland finished with a 19-9 advantage in shots and 6-3 advantage over the Vikings in shots on goal. The Golden Grizzlies also finished with an 8-3 advantage on corner kicks.
In two years in the Horizon League, Oakland is now 3-1 in the HL tournament. Last season as the No. 3 seed, the Golden Grizzlies advanced to the championship match.
(4) Green Bay 3, (5) Youngstown State 1
Green Bay scored three unanswered goals after allowing an early goal to Youngstown State to defeat the Penguins, 3-1, on Monday night.
The win marks Green Bay’s first home postseason win since 1994. The Phoenix will play top-seed and host Valparaiso on Thursday in the semifinals at 8 p.m. ET.
After allowing Valparaiso to score two early goals last Friday, Green Bay found itself in a similar hole in the first round as Youngstown State scored just 90 seconds into the match. YSU’s Kathy Baquero took advantage of a turnover deep in the Green Bay zone to score her team-best sixth goal of the season.
The Penguins advantage held for almost the next 40 minutes, but Green Bay scored the equalizer and then took the lead in the span of 2:30.
The Horizon League’s leading goal scorer got the Phoenix started as Heidi Hartmann scored her 12th goal of the season to tie the match at one in the 39th minute. Two minutes later, Green Bay freshman Alex Zeller, a member of the League’s All-Freshman team, scored her fifth goal of the season to give the Phoenix a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, YSU had a couple of chances to tie the match, but could never get one past GB keeper Nastacia Behle. Hartmann put the match away in the 75th minute, scoring her 13th goal to give Green Bay a 3-1 lead.
Green Bay finished the match with a 24-7 advantage in shots on Youngstown State and an 11-2 lead in shots on goal.
Tags: Green Bay - Women's Soccer · Horizon League - Women's Soccer · Oakland - Women's Soccer
