Box Score Link to CCAA Tournament Site
Box Score
Carson, CA – Top-seeded Chico State used a header in each half to take a hard-fought 2-0 win in the second women's semifinal of the 2007 CCAA Soccer Championship Tournament, advancing to Sunday's Championship game where they will face 3rd-seeded CSULA, which upset 2nd-seeded and 17th-ranked UC San Diego the first semifinal.
The Toros were the offensive aggressors early as Amy Livergood had the game's first good look, taking a cross that found her alone with Wildcat keeper Kari Gonzales, only to fire wide.
Two minutes later, Corrie Hirokawa fed Yvonne Vasquez wide of the net, but her angled shot clipped the side of the net, keeping the game scoreless.
CSUC then took its turn on offense as a collision between Toro keeper Alyssa Congdon and her defender left CSUDH's net open, but a Chico ball sent towards the empty net was cleared by Livergood, thwarting the threat.
At 15:46, however, Chico State connected for the game's first score as Ashley Gunther's free kick from 25 yards out found Abby Stretch at the mouth of the goal, where her header found its way over Congdon's outstretched arms for a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats, who moved to 13-5-1, nearly made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute, but Melissa Lindsay was called for running into Congdon, nullifying the would-be two-goal lead.
After the break, Chico State's defense took center stage against an urgent Toro offense, continually intercepting and breaking up CSUDH advances.
CSUC turned its stellar defensive play into a converted opportunity in the 74th minute as as Alison Sward collected a Whitney MacDonald feed, and headed her shot from about 8 yards towards the Toro net. Congdon, in an attempt to intercept MacDonald's free kick, was a step too late, allowing Sward's shot to bounce into the empty net for a 2-0 lead, all but closing the door on any Toro comeback.
The Toros outshot the Wildcats by a 14-13 count, and out-cornered CSUC 3-1, while Congdon was credited with six saves in the loss, compared to Gonzales' four.
In the day's first contest, CSULA's Khadijah Greenwood tallied an assist and the eventual game-winner as the Golden Eagles, who improved to 13-5-1 in their first appearance in the CCAA Tournament, upended the now 12-3-2 Tritons, who had been nationally-ranked and atop the CCAA nearly the entire season.
CSUDH, now 13-4-4, awaits its fate nationally as the NCAA Women's Soccer regional committee will announce on Monday, November 5, which six teams qualified for the Far West Region.
