University of Louisville
West Virginia
Cards Drop Heartbreaker in BIG EAST Semifinals
November 10, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 9, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia's Robin Rushton scored with a little under two minutes left in double overtime to hand the University of Louisville a heartbreaking loss in the BIG EAST Championship semifinal on a cold, rainy night at Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
"I'm proud of this group," said Head Coach Karen Ferguson.
"We battled, and while we didn't generate as many offensive opportunities as we would have liked, that is a testament to West Virginia,"
The Mountaineers had a pair of corners in the first 15 minutes, that the Cards were able to thwart, and Rushton sent a shot wide.
Kelsey Hunyadi dribbled in at the top of the box in the 20th minute and sent a rocket that was targeted for the upper left corner, but it sailed high and wide.
In the 34th minute, WVU forward Kim Bonilla unleashed a hard shot from 30 yards out that rang off the post.
Hunyadi sent a shot wide of the net early in the second half.
The Mountaineers put intense pressure on the Cardinals in the second half, but Joanna Haig was stellar in net for the Cards, making four second half saves, including a great save on Rushton in the 73rd minute.
The Cards were able to counter with some quality attacks but had a difficult time putting shot on net. Shannon Smyth sent a shot high in the 87th minute and another that was wide in the 89th minute.
In the first overtime the Mountaineers continued to pressure the Cardinals, but the Louisville back line withstood the attack, blocking four attempted shots, as neither team was able to place a shot on goal.
In the second extra period, Caitlin Rehder and Lindsay Boling each had shot attempts blocked in the early going. A little under a minute into the second overtime, Ashley Banks redirected a shot just wide to the right of the net. Haig made a great stop on Amanda Cicchini in the 103rd minute.
At 107:31, Deana Everrett worked to the right side of the six and had an open net, but freshman back Meredith Tolley made an incredible team save that appeared it might send the game to PK's, but the ensuing corner lead to the game winner.
The corner was sent into the box and the ball caromed out to Rushton at the top of the 18, and she lined it into the upper left corner to end the game at 108:09.
The NCAA field of 64 will be announced on ESPN News Monday at 8:00 p.m. There are 30 automatic bids through conference championships to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. The Cardinals will be hoping for one of 34 at-large bids.
The first round of the NCAA's will begin November 16 at campus sites that will be announced on the 12th.
