(Story courtesy of Trinity University Athletics Communications)
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Trinity Tiger women's soccer team advanced to the third round of the NCAA Playoffs after winning a penalty kick shootout 3-2 over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (CA) on Sunday afternoon.
Trinity (17-1-3) improves its unbeaten streak to 15 games, though today did snap a 14-game winning streak. Pomona (15-2-4) was eliminated from the postseason with the loss in penalty kicks. The Tigers have now eliminated the Sagehens from the NCAA Playoffs three times in the last four seasons, though Pomona defeated Trinity last year during the regular season.
Even though Pomona held a decisive edge in shots (21-5) and shots-on-goal (14-4), Trinity benefitted from a career game from goalkeeper Lauryn Lewis. Lewis recorded a career-high 13 saves to keep the Tigers in the game, blowing past her previous best of eight saves. She recorded seven in the second half alone, then had two more in the first overtime period. That total also doesn't account for the two saves for Lewis during the penalty shootout to help Trinity move on.
In the shootout, both teams made their initial kicks to keep the PK score level at 1-1. Pomona saved the next Trinity attempt, then made their own shot to take a 2-1 advantage. After the Tigers converted to tie things up, the score remained tied as Lewis saved the next shot by the Sagehens. Trinity had another successful kick to go up 3-2, and Lewis stood tall again with another save to give her team the advantage. The Tigers hit the post with a chance to clinch the win on the next shot, then Pomona hit the post in nearly the exact spot to put Trinity through.
Madisyn Barganski scored for the second straight game for the Tigers, following her game-winner in yesterday's 1-0 win over California Lutheran University in the NCAA First Round. Barganski now leads the Tigers with nine goals this season, breaking a tie with a pair of teammates. Malea Cesar, Maya Ozymy, and Bri Werner all had successful penalty kicks to help the Tigers win the shootout.
The Rundown
A foul just minutes into the game led to the first save of the day for Lewis, then she had an outstanding stop in the eighth minute to hold back Pomona's early momentum. The Sagehens were able to connect more passes than the Tigers for most of the first half, but the home team was also slowed by being offside five times in the first 45 minutes of play. Trinity's defense held Pomona to just three more shots after the first surge.
Midway through the first half, Trinity got its first chance of the game after a throw-in. Werner fired a shot towards goal that was saved by the Pomona goalkeeper, then the deflection was just out of the reach of Barganski on a near-miss for Trinity's offense. Pomona had a long-range shot in the 34th minute result in a relatively easy save for Lewis. Less than five minutes later the Sagehens had a much better look, but Lewis was there again to keep the game scoreless. Trinity had much better control of the game over the final 10-plus minutes of the half; however, the only other Trinity shot came with less than four minutes left as Alex Doran took a chance from outside the box that was saved, and the teams went into halftime at 0-0.
The second half started off slowly for both teams, but Pomona found some space just over 10 minutes into the period. The first shot came in the 56th minute and was another long-distance attempt, but the next came from inside the box and Lewis added two more saves to her day.
Barganski was fighting for possession at the top of the box in the 68th minute when she was fouled to set up a Tiger free kick. Hanna Khan took the kick, which deflected off a defender and right to Barganski. She settled the ball to the ground and knifed her shot through the defense and past the keeper for a 1-0 lead for Trinity.
The Tigers obviously got a big boost from the goal, but the Sagehens wouldn't allow them much time to celebrate. It was only minutes later that the home team was able to get off another on-target shot, and then Pomona finally broke down the Trinity defense with the tying goal that came less than six minutes after the Tigers took the lead. Anna Newland had the only other shot of the period for Trinity in the 80th minute, but it was saved by Pomona. Lewis had to make three more saves after the equalizer, the most dramatic coming with three seconds left as she was able to end the half with a kick-save just before the buzzer.
Just 20 seconds into the first overtime, Werner found a loose ball at the top of the box, but her shot sailed over the bar. Pomona continued peppering shots at Lewis and she notched back-to-back saves in the 93rd minute to keep the home team from ending the game. As the period wound to the final minute, Werner nearly took advantage of a clearance attempt by the Pomona goalkeeper. That clearance hit Werner as she pressured the ball, but it squirted past her into safety and the game continued. Newland had a dangerous cross into the box early in the second overtime, but neither team managed a shot in the final 10 minutes to send the game into the penalty shootout.
Cesar calmly rolled the first penalty shot into the net for the early Tiger lead. Lewis employed a strategy of picking one side early to help stop the shots, but she guessed wrong the first time and the shootout was tied 1-1. The next Trinity shot was saved by Pomona and the home team gained the first advantage. Lewis guessed correctly this time, but the Sagehens still made the shot as it was just out of reach of Lewis in the bottom right corner. That proved to be the last one that got past her. Ozymy buried a much-needed shot to help Trinity keep pace, then Lewis changed the momentum with a save to keep it a 2-2 score. Werner put the Tigers in front 3-2 with her shot, then Lewis had another save to swing the advantage to Trinity. The Tigers could have won it with the next shot, but the ball bounced off the right post to give Pomona life. The Sagehens needed another make to keep the shootout going, but a nearly identical shot off the right post erased that chance, and the Tigers moved on to the next round.
Up Next
Trinity will face 14th-ranked University of Scranton (PA) in the NCAA Third Round, with the winner facing either #9 Washington & Lee University (VA) or #11 William Smith College (MA) in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The host of those games will be announced by the NCAA.
