River Falls 1, Stout 1 (RF advances on 4-3 shootout) |
WIAC Soccer Tournament
RIVER FALLS (November 3, 2009) - History repeated itself, but in reverse as UW-River Falls put an end to UW-Stout's season with a 4-3 shootout win to advance to the semi-finals of the WIAC tournament Tuesday.
The game ended after two overtime periods in a 1-1 tie and the Falcons advanced, 4-3, in the shootout to determine which team advances in the WIAC Tournament.
The Falcons' Kayla Scott started the scoring with a goal in the 14th minute, but Stout's
Cassie Palokangas (Jr, Cottage Grove, Minn) scored her first goal of the season in the 39th minute to tie the game, with an assist by
Becky Glass (Fr, Eagan, Minn) for her first assist of the season.
Both teams were held scoreless in the second half and through the two overtime periods. River Falls (9-9-2) put two shots on net in the second overtime session. Kaitlin Arjes (Jr,Owatonna, Minn) had six saves in goal for Stout, while Rachel Thompson had four saves for River Falls .
While Arjes started in the goal, she also took Stout's (5-13-1) first shot in the shootout and made the penalty kick.
During the 1996 season, the Blue Devils and the Falcons played to a 1-1 tie after two overtimes, but it was the Blue Devils that advanced to the second round of the conference tournament on a 4-3 shootout win.
The Falcons will play at UW-Eau Claire, Thursday, Nov. 5.
GAME PREVIEW
UW-Stout had to literally wait until the final seconds of a late game between UW-River Falls and UW-Platteville to determine if the Blue Devils would advance to the WIAC Women's Soccer Tournament.
The Falcons needed to either defeat or tie the Pioneers on Oct. 24 to extend Stout's season. River Falls beat Platteville, 1-0, in overtime to breathe new life into Stout's season.
Now, the sixth seeded Blue Devils (5-13-0, 3-5-0) will visit the third seeded Falcons (9-9-1, 5-3-0), Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. in a WIAC quarterfinals match-up. Stout crept away from River Falls on Sept. 30 with a 2-1 overtime win when
Ali Sonsteby (Jr, Clearwater, Minn) scored two minutes into overtime.
If Stout wins, they will advance to play top-seeded UW-Stevens Point, Thursday, Nov. 5 at Stevens Point. If the Falcons win, they will play at second-seeded UW-Eau Claire on Thursday.
Eryn Lansverk leads the Falcons with 11 goals and four assists, while Janae Baron has 10 goals nd five assists. Rachel Thompson has been in the goal for all by 68 minutes throughout the season and has a 1.39 goals against average. The Falcons have lost six games by one goal this season.
The Blue Devils are led by
Jessica Price (Jr, Woodbury, Minn) with seven goals.
Bridget LaVallee (Fr, St. Michael, Minn) has started nine of the last 10 games and has a goals against average of 1.45. Stout has lost 11 games by one goal.
In the other first round game, No. 4 seeded Oshkosh will host No. 5 seeded Whitewater on Nov. 3 at 2 p.m.
The WIAC semifinals will be on Thursday, Nov. 5. Stevens Point will host the lowest remaining seeded team and Eau Claire will host the highest remaining seeded team. The games will start at 2 p.m.
The championship game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the site of the highest remaining seeded team. Starting time is 1 p.m. The tournament winner receives the WIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III Championships.
