|
NCAA Division I Men's Tournament Bracket NCAA Division I Men's Conference Tournament Scoreboard
|
Yeagley will go out in title match after Indiana edges Santa Clara 1-0 in sudden death. Men's College Cup Alvarado-Ralph penalty kick, Gaudette's saves send St. John's past Maryland 1-0 in semis.
St. John's (17-5-3) will face No. 7 Indiana (16-3-5) in Sunday's 2 p.m. (ET) championship match which will be televised on ESPN2. The Hoosiers edged 11th-ranked Santa Clara 1-0 on midfielder Pat Yates' goal in a second period of sudden death. "We knew we had a stiff challenge in front of us," St. John's coach Dave Masur said. "Maryland is a tough team, with many skilled players who can attack you. We got the goal in the first half and our guys made it stick, but we've got to be ready for Sunday now." Maryland lost for the second straight year in the national semifinals. A penalty kick also accounted for the winning goal when eventual champion UCLA eliminated the Terrapins 2-1 in 2002. "We made two mistakes in the first half and got punished on one of them, severely," Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said. "That sometimes happens. I just told my team that I just had two of the best years of my coaching life with this terrific group of people who are champions in every aspect." Maryland outshot St. John's 24-9, but was stymied by nine saves by Red Storm senior goalkeeper Bill Gaudette who made nine saves. "We didn't get off to a great start, but Bill showcased himself," Masur said "He was in a big spot and was able to make some big plays. In the second half, Bill was able to move his feet and cover the box and the defense did a great job preventing any opportunities for Maryland." Maryland (20-3-1), which was 40-8-1 over the last two seasons, controlled play in the opening minutes of the game, unleashing a flurry of shots, including four on goal. Junior strikers Abe Thompson and Jason Garey each recorded two shots on goal, but Gaudette made a pair of diving stops to keep the game scoreless. The Terrapins defense contained St. John's attackers preventing the Red Storm from moving into the offensive third. When St. John's got a break, it capitalized. Alvarado-Ralph won a 50-50 ball and flicked it to senior forward Simone Salinno who lofted a ball to the top left of the penalty area. Freshman striker Ashley Kozicki got to it first and flicked it on with his head. Maryland goalkeeper Noah Palmer, going for the ball, instead knocked over Kozicki and a penalty kick was awarded. On the penalty, Palmer guessed to his right and Alvarado-Ralph knocked a low shot behind him, down the middle for his fifth goal and a 1-0 lead on the Red Storm's first shot on goal with 34:18 elapsed. "We started out the way you want to start out," Cirovski said. "The defending was good, we were creating chances and getting shots off, getting close chances and you think one of them is going to go in the back of the net. There's no explanation for it. Soccer can change in an instant and today it did. We still felt very confident and I think these guys showed a lot of poise all year. They just kept pushing. There was no panic. There were chances right in the last 30 seconds of the game." The Red Storm had a tremendous chance in the final minute of the first half to take a 2-0 lead when junior defender Ryan Kelly won a ball just past midfield and carried ahead with Alvarado-Ralph on his left. Kelly slotted a ball past a Maryland defender to Alvarado-Ralph, but Palmer came off his line and deflected the Swede's shot high. Maryland junior midfielder Ian Rodway had his shot saved by Gaudette. In the 70th minute, Maryland had a free kick from the 30-yard line which bounced around the box before Garey fired a shot high. The Terps attacked with increasing desperation as the match entered its final minutes. The best opportunity came from Thompson in the 80th minute, but Gaudette saved the header with a dive on his goal line. Gaudette "played well and we kept the pressure on him," Thompson said. "We could not do much and he just kept stopping our shots." In the 86th minute, Maryland senior midfielder A.J. Herrera sent a blast from 25 yards high. Thompson's triggered one last shot with 20 seconds left, but again Gaudette recorded a diving save. St. John's made its first appearance in the national semifinals since taking the NCAA championship in 1996. |
