Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletics

Upcoming Events & Results

Composite Calendar
FloSports
Melissa Livergood sent the Toros to Saturday's NCAA Title game with the PK clincher (PHOTO: MICHAEL FOO)
1
Cal St. Dom. Hills CSUDH (16-8-3)
1
West Florida WFL (22-0-1)
Cal St. Dom. Hills CSUDH
(16-8-3)
1
Final
1
West Florida WFL
(22-0-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 OT 3 F
Cal St. Dom. Hills CSUDH 1 0 0 0 0 1
West Florida WFL 1 0 0 0 0 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Toros Advance to NCAA Title Game With 4-1 PK Shootout Win Over Top-Ranked West Florida

TAMPA, Fla. -  The bigger they are, the harder they fall.  This adage was never more evident than tonight as the 15th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills women's soccer team toppled the top-ranked and formerly undefeated and untied team in the nation in West Florida in a 4-1 penalty kick shootout to advance to Saturday afternoon's NCAA Championship game against 3rd-ranked Grand Valley State, a 3-2 overtime winner over 2nd-ranked St. Rose in the first national semifinal.

Junior #Melissa Livergood# again clinched the PK win after clinching a 3-1 PK win over UC San Diego to help the Toros claim the West Region Title on November 22.  With the win, the 16-8-3 Toros look to take home their first NCAA Championship since the 1991 campaign.

"We've had a couple opportunities to go to PKs this year and our kickers know what they are doing," said head coach Joe Flanagan, following the win. "I told our kickers to pick the same spot you know and just go for it."

The Toros were perfect in their only four attempts needed with #Paige Peel#, #Brooke Thompson#, #Karina Jahn# and Livergood all nesting their shots in the back of the net.

On the other end, Toro keeper #Alyssa Congdon# watched WFU's Dernelle Mascall send a shot wide before Taylor Murphy found success to Congdon's left. The critical moment came when Congdon guessed correctly by diving right to save the shot of Marcela Franco to all but seal the deal.

"I knew right where it was going," says Congdon on her prophetic nature. "But I can't tell how because that is a secret."

In regulation, Argonaut Shakira Duncan took a feed from Shaneka Gordon at the top of the box and slid her ball through the defensive scrum and past a diving Congdon to give UWF a 1-0 lead.

Facing a halftime deficit, #Yadira Gomez# collected a loose ball amongst a sea of Cardinal and White jerseys following a Toro corner kick to give CSUDH the edge it desperately needed in the game just before the half expired.

CSUDH narrowly escaped the Argos first shot in overtime, and then had an equally  close chance to score as a Jahn shot from far top hit the post, missing an empty net by a few inches.

The Toros held off the battering offense of the Argonauts -- UWF took seven of their 28 shots in the two 10-minutes overtimes -- before sending the game to the shootout.

Overall, the Argonauts out-shot the Toros, taking a total of 28 with 10 on frame, giving Congdon nine saves. CSUDH made 14 total shots with six between the posts.

"I thought it was an unbelievable game, both teams were great," Flanagan reflected after the match-up.

"We had to deal with the athleticism that West Florida had and the chances they created.  Both teams went at it and I know it was a great game to watch as well," he says with a sigh of relief.

Handing West Florida (22-0-1) its first blemish on an otherwise perfect season, the Toros will enter Saturday's action with a 16-8-3 overall mark.  Two of the Toros' five NCAA postseason games have been decided in penalty kicks, showcasing the strength of an overall Toro squad.

"We work well together and are confident with each other's play," said Congdon, on what gave them the will to go on.

But Gomez summed it up in one word in the post-game press conference, as "teamwork" was what they needed, and received, tonight.

The Toros will face off against Grand Valley State on Saturday, December 5, with the 2009 NCAA Championship on the line.  First kick on Championship Saturday is set for 1:00 pm EST.
Print Friendly Version