November 4, 2005

Box Score

Turlock, CA -- The Toros played one of their most complete games of the season in game two of the CCAA Conference semifinals, giving head coach Joe Flanagan an exciting 3-2 birthday win over host Cal State Stanislaus and earning a chance to repeat as CCAA Champions in a Sunday afternoon showdown against UC San Diego, a 1-0 winner over Chico State in the first semifinal.

CSUDH (14-5-2) played with great energy from the start, scoring two goals in the first 20 minutes of play. Senior Katie Roche (Costa Mesa, CA/Cypress College) led the charge with the game's first goal at 13:55, taking a Corrie Hirokawa (Torrance, CA/North HS) feed 25 yards out and connecting on a left-footed bender that somehow found its way past shellshocked CSUS goalkeep Breanna Vaughan for a 1-0 lead. Junior Rachele McDonald (Ventura, CA/Ventura College) pushed the lead to two goals just under five minutes later by intercepting an attempted outlet pass from Vaughan, and beating the Warrior netminder to the near post at 18:24.

The host Warriors would answer with a goal at the 21:15 mark as Erin Taylor would connect off a feed from Michelle Coutu, but the Toro defense would keep the CSUS offense in check the remainder of the half, giving CSUDH a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.

The Toros would waste no time regaining momentum after the break as Hirokawa assisted on her second goal of the day by delivering a perfect through ball to a streaking Michelle Sena (San Pedro, CA/San Pedro HS), who beat a contingent of three CSUS defenders and put her shot past Vaughan for a 3-1 lead just 2:23 into the second half. The Toros would continue to mount pressure on the CSUS defense, outshooting the Warriors 9-5 in the second half. However, a hand ball called inside the Toro box gave CSUS a penalty kick, and Grace Cochrun converted to cut the lead to one.

CSUDH would not relent, however, consistently clearing the ball over the final 2:29 seconds to secure the victory, and setting up a showdown with their southern California rivals on Sunday.

"The key was the first 20-25 minutes of the game," summarizes Flanagan. "We had great energy and really gook the game to them by dictating the play, getting a couple of goals early and not letting them feed off their crowd's energy. Except for the late PK which made it a little scary, for the most part it was a very solid performance."

The Toros' win sets up a rubber match against the Tritons, who bested CSUDH 2-0 on September 21 before falling to the Toros one month later. Flanagan knows the two teams bring out the best in each other, and looks forward to Sunday's 2:00 p.m. match-up.

"It's a great rivalry," he begins. "I'm hoping that the girls can come with the same energy on Sunday. I like our chances."