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Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletics

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(PHOTO: MICHAEL FOO)
5
Winner Cal St. Dom. Hills CSUDH (16-8-2)
2
West Texas A&M WTAM (15-3-4)
Winner
Cal St. Dom. Hills CSUDH
(16-8-2)
5
Final
2
West Texas A&M WTAM
(15-3-4)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cal St. Dom. Hills CSUDH 2 3 5
West Texas A&M WTAM 1 1 2

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Toros Advance to Final Four With 5-2 Win Over West Texas A&M


LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The 2009 NCAA Final Four bound Toros are beginning to enjoy Triton Soccer Stadium.  Unbeaten in its last three games in La Jolla, the No. 15 Toros punched their ticket to Tampa with a convincing 5-2 win over No. 13 West Texas A&M University, led by scoring machine #Jessica Murphy#, who tallied two goals in the win.

CSUDH, which improved to 16-8-2, moves on to Tampa, Florida, for the Final Four, where they will meet West Florida in a national semifinal game on December 3.

"Awesome, just awesome," begins CSUDH associate head coach Jeff Tuttle, about the win.  "They girls worked so hard, and we're so happy for them.  All the credit goes to them.  (WTAMU) is a good team over there; they battled hard.  I don't think it was a 5-2 game.  But we put away our opportunities, and we're super excited.  This is great, not only for our girls, but for our University, and anyone who's ever worn a Toro jersey."

The first whistle had barely blown to open the game when the Toros struck first.  After a #Melissa Livergood# blast went off the crossbar, Pedrotti collected in front of the net and gave the Toros a quick 1-0 lead after blasting her shot past West Texas A&M keeper Kelly Skehan just 1:37 into the contest.

Momentum was short-lived, however, as WTAMU's Morgan Kviz equalized by dribbling up the left side and into the Toro box, and sending her shot over CSUDH keeper #Alyssa Congdon# at the 5:51 mark for a 1-1 tie.

That's where the score stayed until the 29th minute when Murphy got behind the Lady Buff defense and collected a loose ball with only West Texas' keeper in front of the goal, sending her shot at a 45 degree angle where it went untouched and into the top of the net for a 2-1 lead entering the half.

Both teams wasted little time in upping the score after the break, as a #Brooke Thompson# corner from Skehan's left found its way through the sea that was both Toro and Lady Buff players, the ball sliding past Skehan and into just inside the right post for a 3-1 edge five minutes into the half.

Sixteen seconds later, however, Lindsay McHorse cut the deficit to 3-2 after beating Condgon near side, keeping WTAMU within striking distance.

But #Britney Vance# again gave the Toros a two-goal lead after a scrum eluded Skehan in front of her net, where Vance was positioned perfectly for the uncontested tap-in.

Murphy then got back into the scoring act after taking a 25 yard service from Pedrotti that got behind the WTAMU defense, dribbling another 25 yards and sending a precision shot over Skehan's outstretched hands but under the crossbar from 18 yards out for a commanding 5-2 lead at 73:28, the Torrancue native's fifth multi-goal game of the season, all but putting the game out of reach.

"Beating UC San Diego and Seattle Pacific, two of the nation's best, and doing what we did in the CCAA Conference, the best conference in the nation, prepared us for games like this," Tuttle continued.

"In the first half, we did a very poor job of passing, but did a much better job in the second half, and that's what opened up the game a little bit.

Murphy, who sat out Friday's NCAA West Region game against the host Tritons, was more than ready to do her part to help the Toros.  "I knew that I got a game's rest, and after the girls worked so hard on Friday to get us here, I had to come out with fresh legs and help get them through this game, mentally and physically.

"Our goal was to get to the Final Four, and we did it.  We came in a little anxious, but were able to calm ourselves down at the half, and started connecting passes.  We talked about winning the second half, and that's what we did."

One year after the CSUDH men's soccer team made its trip to Tampa a successful one with its second NCAA Title in the past eight years, the head coaches know what it takes to get there, and win.

"You're always happy to get to a Final Four," Tuttle concludes, looking forward to Tampa.  "I'm a firm believer that skill will take you places, but that you need a little bit of luck along the way.  But we're going to be only one of four teams who has a chance to hoist that trophy, so we're feeling pretty good about it."
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