Rutgers University
West Virginia
Rutgers Advances to First BIG EAST Championship Final
Nov 03 | Women's Soccer
STORRS, Conn. - Courtney Roarty (Edison, N.J.) scored two goals to lift the Rutgers women's soccer team (15-2-3) to a 3-2 win over No. 8 West Virginia University (14-3-3) in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship tournament at Morrone Stadium on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, Conn. Rutgers will face top-ranked Notre Dame in the title game on Sunday, Nov. 5, at Morrone Stadium. The appearance in the BIG EAST Championship final is the first in school history for the Scarlet Knights.
Despite a 2-0 deficit early in the first half, the Scarlet Knights got a goal from Roarty, her first of the season, to cut the lead to one before the half. In the 65th minute, Alicia Hall (Port Republic, N.J.) scored her eighth goal of the season to tie the game. With less than four minutes remaining, Roarty scored her second goal to lift the Scarlet Knights to the win.
"Heart, character, determination and then the word our Senior Associate Athletic Director John Ternyila used after the game, perseverance, describe this team's performance tonight," head coach Glenn Crooks said of the win. "And, also, poise. We were so poised in situations where we had to make things happen. All those words are relevant to how we played in the second half."
Playing without freshman forward Karla Schacher (Tofield, Alberta), who has provided Rutgers with five goals and three assists in 2006, Crooks was pleased with the way the Scarlet Knights' offense stepped up in her absence.
"Schacher being down is a huge loss for us and for Courtney to go in and get done what she did was what we needed. She hadn't been feeling well and we weren't sure she'd be able to get back in there the second half. Alicia's goal was spectacular and it's something she's capable of doing every game. She has that mentality of getting in position, taking the shot and putting it into the back of the net."
With the win, Rutgers sets a new school record for wins in a season with 15, breaking the previous record, 14, set during the 1986 and 2001 seasons. The win over the Mountaineers marks the first time since 2000 that the Scarlet Knights have defeated West Virginia. In 2000, Rutgers overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat the Mountaineers, 3-2 in overtime.
Less than 10 minutes into the game, Erin Guthrie (Sparta, N.J.) came up with her first save on a header by Krystle Kallman. The Mountaineers' Kim Bonilla took the corner kick and nailed it to Kallman on the far post. Guthrie shifted over and picked up the header as Kallman went for the low right corner of the goal.
West Virginia's Deanna Everrett took a shot from the top of the penalty box with 29:06 left in the first half, but Guthrie, again, made the stop for the Scarlet Knights.
The Mountaineers took an early 1-0 lead at the 27:07 mark when Bonilla passed the ball ahead to Everett on the left side and she nailed a shot to the right side of the goal, scoring her 18th goal of the season.
At the 25:20 mark, the Scarlet Knights had an offensive opportunity of their own when Roarty made a cross from the left side of the field. The Mountaineers' Lana Bannerman came off her line and snatched the ball out of the air to end the scoring threat.
With 17:39 remaining in the half, West Virginia took a 2-0 lead on a goal from Natalie Cocchi. Bonilla recorded her second assist of the game as she hit Cocchi in the goal box and nailed it into the back of the net for the Mountaineers.
The Scarlet Knights put together an attack with 12:28 remaining in the half when Gina DeMaio (Parsippany, N.J.) made a pass to Kristie Lang (East Brunswick, N.J.) from the top of the penalty box. Lang, however, got too far ahead of the West Virginia defense and was called for offsides.
Roarty cut the Mountaineers' lead to one with a goal with 5:58 remaining in the opening half. Tierney Brady (Brick, N.J.) made a pass to Jaime Komar (Matawan, N.J.) who then made a service from the right side of the field into the goal box. Roarty beat the Mountaineers' defenders to the ball and slid it into the bottom left corner for the Scarlet Knights. The goal is the first for the sophomore in 2006, while Komar tallied her fourth assist of the season.
With 28:31 left in the game, DeMaio nailed a shot from the right side of the penalty box, but missed just wide. The Scarlet Knights got another scoring opportunity a minute later when Hall headed a pass from DeMaio just high of the crossbar.
On Rutgers' next attack, Hall tied the game, 2-2 at the 25:25 mark, scoring her eighth goal of the season. Hall got possession back for the Scarlet Knights near the left sideline in between the penalty box and midfield. She dribbled to the top of the box and nailed a shot into the middle of the top of the goal, just out of the reach of Mountaineer goalie, Bannerman.
West Virginia nearly scored its third goal of the game on the next possession. Guthrie came off her line to punch out a pass in the goal box. Everrett then headed the ball toward the goal with Guthrie out of position, but she was able to recover and snatch the ball, ending the scoring opportunity.
Amanda Allessio (Langhorne, Pa.) got a good look on the goal on a pass from DeMaio on the right side. Allessio turned the ball from the right side and nailed the middle part of the crossbar, sending the ball straight down on the goal line. Caycie Gusman (Honolulu, Hawaii) collected the rebound, but missed high of the goal.
With 3:20 left in the game, Roarty gave the Scarlet Knights the lead, scoring her second goal of the game, also her second on the year.
In goal, Guthrie had five saves for the Scarlet Knights.
In their first meeting in 2006, the Fighting Irish got a 2-0 win over the Scarlet Knights, as they lead the all-time series,
12-1-2. The Scarlet Knights are 2-1-1 against ranked teams in 2006.
"I told the girls after the game that it's rare to play the No. 1 team in the country twice in one year," Crooks said. "When we played at Notre Dame, we competed pretty well, but the goals we gave up were correctable mistakes. I think we'll be more ready this time. Notre Dame is a physically and soccer-gifted team that you can't just say we're going to be better this time because they're a very good team. I'm not going to count us out in any match-up."
Rutgers 3, West Virginia 2
1st 2nd Final West Virginia 2 0 2 Rutgers 1 2 3 Shots 1st 2nd Final West Virginia 6 3 9 Rutgers 1 10 11 Saves 1st 2nd Final West Virginia 0 0 5 Rutgers 3 2 0 Corner Kicks 1st 2nd Final West Virginia 3 3 6 Rutgers 0 1 1 Fouls 1st 2nd Final West Virginia 9 3 13 Rutgers 1 7 16 Offsides: RU 2, West Virginia 1 Cards: none. Time Team Goal Assist 17:53 WVU Deana Everrett (18) Kim Bonilla 27:20 WVU Natalie Cocchi (6) Kim Bonilla 39:01 RU Courtney Roarty (1) Jaime Komar 64:35 RU Alicia Hall (8) unassisted 86:40 RU Courtney Roarty (2) Caycie Gusman
BIG EAST Championship Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 3, 2006;
Morrone Stadium; Storrs, Conn.
