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Women's Soccer: 2009 NCAA West Region Notes
11/12/2009 10:14:13 AM
CARSON -- Cal State Dominguez Hills makes its third-consecutive trip to the NCAA regional after placing a runner-up finish in the CCAA Championship Tournament last week. Here's a preview of the Cal State L.A. hosted sub-regional.
Tournament Bound: Below is information on the five other teams that qualified for the West Region tournament in 6th-ranked Cal State L.A.,19th-ranked Seattle Pacific, UC San Diego, Dixie State and Chico State, their overall records, CSUDH’s record against them, and a series capsule (if applicable).
No. 1 Seed CSULA (17-2-2, 1-2)
No. 2 Seed UCSD (14-5-1, 1-1-1)
No. 3 Seed SPU (16-3-1, 1-0)
No. 4 Seed CSUDH (13-8-1)
No. 5 Seed Dixie State (14-4, N/A)
No. 6 Seed Chico State (8-5-8, 0-1)
Against No. 1 seed & No. 6 Cal State L.A.: The cross-town rivals split their two regular season meetings, each winning on the road. After a 3-0 whitewashing in Carson, the Toros regrouped in Los Angeles in a 1-0 win as Karina Jahn supplied the overtime heroics at the 94:04 mark, before top-seeded CSULA again dominated in the CCAA Title game.
Against No. 2 seed UC San Diego: The Toros split their regular season games against the Tritons, and forged a 1-1 2OT draw in the CCAA semifinal, in which CSUDH advanced in a PK shootout. In the three meetings, Jessica Murphy tallied a pair of goals as the two teams virtually were deadlocked in every category, including the decisive PK score.
Against No. 3 seed & No. 19 Seattle Pacific: The Toros played their best game of the year in a 2-0 win against then No. 4 SPU, the defending NCAA Champions. CSUDH tallied two second half goals while keeper Alyssa Congdon blanked the Falcons for the first time in 33 matches en route to earning Wilson/CCAA Player of the Week honors that week.
About No. 5 seed Dixie State: The Red Storm is making its first appearance in the NCAA postseason after earning the Pacific West Conference’s automatic qualifying bid in only its second year of eligibility, with senior forward Mikala Wilkes led the Red Storm with 12 points and 29 goals, finishing second in the conference in scores.
Against No. 6 seed Chico State: The Wildcats, who “tied” the Division II mark for most draws in a single season, got the best of the Toros in Carson, with Chico scoring the first two goals of the game before CSUDH mounted a charge late as Yadira Gomez cut the lead in half with a 35-foot floater before the Toros fell by a 2-1 count.
Toros Fall in CCAA Conference Final: Cal State L.A. stormed out of the gate in the CCAA final last Sunday, using Liz Franco’s 3 goal, 1 assist performance in a commanding 4-0 win over the Toros, the second time in three meetings the Golden Eagles have dominated their cross-town rival.
After taking a 1-0 lead on a PK in the first half, CSULA put an end to any CSUDH hopes of a comeback with 3 unanswered scores after the break.
CSUDH Against the Nation’s Best: The Toros went 3-4 in their seven contests against ranked teams heading into the NCAA regional, winning two of the final three games against ranked opponents vs. No. 4 Seattle Pacific and No. 18 UC San Diego in a span of eight days.
In those seven games, Jessica Murphy paced the offense with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Makenzie Pedrotti and Britney Vance each tallied 2 goals. In two of the three wins, keeper Alyssa Congdon posted 2 shutouts after allowing just one goal in that span, while the Toros won two contests in overtime, while dropping one in double OT.
Toros Against the West’s Best: The Toros went 3-4-1 in their eight contests against teams that qualified for the West Regional, defeating No. 3 seed Seattle Pacific, forging a 1-1-1 record against No. 2 seed UC San Diego, going 1-2 against top-seeded Cal State L.A., and falling in their only meeting against 6th-seeded Chico State.
In the eight games, Jessica Murphy and Britney Vance tallied a pair of goals apiece, while Murphy, Brooke Thompson and Lexi Ford all notched two assists. After falling 3-0 to Cal State L.A. on September 8, the Toros had outscored their opponents 8-6 over the next six games, before Cal State L.A.’s 4-0 win for the CCAA Title.
Toros Place Five on All-CCAA Teams: Sophomore striker Jessica Murphy earned her second-straight 1st-team All-CCAA selection to highlight 5 Toros to earn league honors.
Junior Makenzie Pedrotti and sophomore Paige Peel earned 2nd-team All-CCAA awards, while junior Melissa Livergood was voted Honorable mention. Redshirt freshman Britney Vance picked up the CCAA Newcomer of the Year award, giving the Toros three-straight after Melanie De Salvo (2008) and Yvonne Vasquez (2007) picked up the awards in their first seasons in Carson.
CCAA Player of the Week: Junior Alyssa Congdon picked up the lone Wilson/CCAA Player of the Week honor for the Toros during the 2009 season, adding to her list of accolades.
Congdon led the Toros to a huge 2-0 win over #4 Seattle Pacific in CSUDH’s regular season home finale, the first non-conference team to blank the defending national champions since the 2007 NCAA semifinals. Congdon totaled 8 saves in helping the Toros become the first team in 33 matches to post a shutout against SPU.
The Last Hurrah: This marks the final postseason for three seniors in Amanda Murray, Caslyn Wells & Natalie Moreno, who between them have four years of NCAA playoff experience under their collective belts, looking to make a deep run in their last playoff appearance.
Toros Among the CCAA’s Statistical Best: Here’s how CSUDH fared with the rest of the CCAA after the regular season. Goals - Jessica Murphy (T2nd, 10); Game Winning Goals - Britney Vance (T3rd, 4), Jessica Murphy (T6th, 3); Points - Jessica Murphy (T4th, 25); Assists - Jessica Murphy (T10th, 5). Here’s a look at the defensive leaders: Save Percentage - Alyssa Congdon (8th, .782); Shutouts - Alyssa Congdon (1st, 10); Saves - Alyssa Congdon (6th, 68); GAA - Alyssa Congdon (6th, 0.92).
There’s No “I” in Team: Here’s a look at how the Toros fared as a team on the offensive end in the CCAA after the regular season: Points - 5th; Goals - 4th; Assists - 7th. And on defense: Shutouts - T1st; Goals Allowed - T4th; GAA - 6th; Saves - 11th.
Home (Not So) Sweet Home: The Toros won just 50% of their games in Carson, winning 5 games and just 3 of 7 in the CCAA. Shutouts were the recurring theme as CSUDH picked up all 5 wins via shutout, while being blanked twice in the 5 losses.
Britney Vance paced the Toros with 4 goals, an assist and 2 game-winners, while Makenzie Pedrotti tallied 3 goals and 2 game-winners, followed by 2 goals and 2 assists by Jessica Murphy. Lexi Ford and Brooke Thompson also tallied 2 assists each, while Yadira Gomez tallied her lone game winner in the 1-0 win over CS Stanislaus on September 25.
Road Warriors: CSUDH was an impressive 8-2 away from the friendly confines of Toro Stadium, outscoring opponents 16-7 during the regular season. Jessica Murphy felt right at home with 8 goals, 3 assists and 3 game-winners, while Makenzie Pedrotti chipped in 3 scores and an assist.
Keeper Alyssa Congdon was stingy away from Carson, boasting a 0.69 GAA and 5 shutouts, as well as four other contests allowing just 1 score.
On Neutral Ground: The Toros have only had two games on neutral ground, both taking place at the CCAA Conference Tournament last week where they went 0-1-1. Paige Peel notched the lone goal in the 1-1 2OT tie against UC San Diego, before CSUDH was blanked by Cal State L.A. in the title game.
In the tournament, sophomore Brooke Thompson was the lone Toro to be named to the All-CCAA Tournament team.
What Sophomore Slump?: Scoring sensation Jessica Murphy has continued her stellar play following 2008’s breakthrough. After 14 goals, 7 assists and 3 game-winners in a freshman campaign that saw her claim 1st-team All-CCAA accolades, Murphy has tallied 10 goals, 5 assists and 3 more game-winners this season, as well as a second-consecutive 1st-team All-CCAA honor.
A scoring machine, Murphy has 3 multi-goal contests, including back-to-back games to start CSUDH’s 4-game win streak in mid-September.
Home Grown: Three Toros from the immediate area making significant contributions to this year’s squad are freshman forward Jessica Murphy, sophomore midfielder Melissa Livergood, sophomore keeper Alyssa Congdon, who are all from Torrance.
Additionally, Britney Vance (Downey), Kristan Boyle (Long Beach), Natalie Moreno (Lakewood, left), Karina Jahn (Redondo Beach), Danielle Shoemaker (Cypress) are five others who are within 15 minutes from Carson.
Vance the Vanquisher: Redshirt freshman Britney Vance’s timing has been impeccable this year, accounting for 4 game-winners in her 6 total goals on the year.
The Downey native scored her first two GWGs in her third and fifth games, both 1-0 nail-biting wins over CS San Marcos and CS San Bernardino.
She then connected for No. 3 in another 1-0 win, this time on the road at Sonoma State, and followed that with No. 4 in the 2-1 OT road win at No. 18 UC San Diego to close the regular season, a win that catapulted the Toros to the No. 2 seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament.
Streaks: After sputtering out of the gate with a 2-4 record to kick off the year, the Toros have run off two 4-game win streaks to charge back onto the national scene. The first streak in mid-September saw CSUDH outscore their opponents 7-1 as Jessica Murphy scored 4 goals in the span, while keeper Alyssa Congdon boasted 3 shutouts.
In the next 4-game win streak to close the regular season that included wins over #4 Seattle Pacific and at #18 UC San Diego, CSUDH was even better out-scoring their foes 8-1 in three shutout wins that saw the Toros debut in the NSCAA Top 25 at No. 18.
Makenzie Pedrotti and Britney Vance stepped up again to close the regular season with 3 goals apiece, while Murphy chipped in 2 goals and 2 assists in the four wins. Congdon again was superb, boasting a 0.24 GAA.
The Future's So Bright...: Although the Toros eventually will bid a fond farewell to their three seniors once the 2009 season concludes, CSUDH's cupboard will be far from bare in 2010. Of their five scorers with at least 2 goals, three are freshman (Britney Vance, Lexi Ford, Yadira Gomez), two are sophomores (Jessica Murphy, Paige Peel), and one is a junior (Makenzie Pedrotti), giving head coach Joe Flanagan ample weapons to make another run at the conference and national titles.
Add to the picture redshirt senior Melanie de Salvo, who earned 2008 1st-team All-CCAA and league Newcomer of the Year, and the Toros will again be strong in 2010.
The Flanagan File: As CSUDH women’s head coach, Joe Flanagan has one CCAA Championship under his belt, as well as six NCAA postseason appearances, including 2009. In the NCAA postseason, Flanagan’s teams have gone 3-4-1, including a first round win in each of the past two seasons.
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