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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Golden Rams took the nation’s top-ranked squad to the brink in the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Quarterfinals Sunday afternoon, but West Chester’s magic in penalty kick shootouts finally ran out as Saint Rose adv anced to its third straight national semifinal after a 3-1 decision in the shootout at South Campus Field.
Saint Rose will take on UC-San Diego in the semifinals in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Dec. 4. UC San Diego won the West Region and advanced to the semifinals with a win over St. Edward’s (Texas) on Saturday.
The College of Saint Rose (23-0-1) converted three of its four attempts while West Chester (18-1-4) misfired on three of its four. It was the fourth penalty kick shootout West Chester was a part of in its five playoff games. The Golden Rams advanced to the next round on each of the previous three occasions. For Saint Rose, the 1-1 double-overtime tie is the only blemish on an otherwise perfect 2010 campaign.
West Chester quickly fell behind in the shootout, 2-0, when Saint Rose made good on each of its first two attempts while Golden Knights’ goalkeeper Deanna Esposito made a pair of nice saves on the Rams’ first two tries. Saint Rose’s Aoife Herbert made it 3-for-3 for the Golden Knights just before Rams’ freshman Paige Maloney, who hammered in the game-clincher in PKs on Friday, stepped to the dot and converted her attempt. Amanda Deck, who scored the Knights’ game-tying goal just before halftime, missed her attempt in the fourth round to keep West Chester alive. However, the Golden Rams’ fourth shot sailed high over the crossbar.
Devon Swaim opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the contest with a blast from 20 yards that found the far side of the net for her fourth goal of the season. It marked the first goal Saint Rose keeper Esposito had allowed in just under 1,000 minutes of play.
The Knights got the equalizer three minutes before halftime when Deck, the Northeast 10 player of the year, hammered a shot from just outside the penalty area past Lyndsie Bernardini in goal for the Golden Rams. That is the way things stood until the shootout.
Bernardini (17-1-4) made three saves in goal for West Chester while Esposito was credited with two. Saint Rose outshot the Rams, 10-5, with a 6-1 margin in the second half. The Knights held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
NOTES: West Chester ends its 2010 campaign unbeaten at home (11-0-4) … West Chester’s senior class finishes its career with an overall record of 68-9-13 and three conference titles in its four years … the senior class reached the NCAA Quarterfinals twice … Sr., F Sarah Oswald finishes her college career tied for second all-time in scoring at WCU with 150 career points … her 58 career goals is third on the all-time list … she holds the school record with 32 career assists … So., GK Lyndsie Bernardini has a career record of 36-3-5 with 32 shutouts … she is fifth all-time at WCU in wins for a goalkeeper and holds the school record with her 32 shutouts … Sr., M Jessica Bennett appeared in 90 games during her four-year career, ranking second all-time at WCU behind former teammate Lauren Boyer (92).
