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Division I NCAA Division II women Beale's OT tally sends Nebraska-Omaha past Seattle Pacific 2-1 for national title.
Three minutes into sudden death, sophomore striker Brandie Beale scored to give the Mavericks their first NCAA Division II championship with a 2-1 decision over Seattle Pacific this afternoon at the Midwestern State University Soccer Field. UNO (20-2), which commenced its program in 1999, was playing in its fourth straight Final Four, having lost in the final once and the semifinals twice. The Falcons have an all-time NCAA tournament records of 13-3-1, compiled in those four years. SPU (20-1-4) fell after compiling a 9-0-8 record in extra time over the last four years. The championship "has been four years coming for us," said coach Don Klosterman, who started the UNO program, after his team battled back from a 1-0 deficit for the second straight game. "These guys don't quit. They've shown it every single game." Following a throw-in, junior midfielder Amber Richardson touched a short pass to Beale who turned and drilled an 18-yarder into the top left corner of the net for the 2-1 final with 3:03 elapsed in the first of two possible 10-minute sudden-death periods. "I turned inside and everybody was yelling for me to shoot," said Beale, who scored her 13th goal and was voted the "Offensive Most Valuable Player" of the Final Four. Beale had scored the tying goal in the 2-1 semifinal decision over Franklin Pierce Thursday. "I hadn't been expecting her to turn that quickly," said SPU junior defender Carolyn Nason. "It was a great shot." SPU went ahead 1-0 with 7:24 elapsed with the Falcons scoring on their first shot. Sophomore forward Sarah Martinez finished a run down the left flank with a crisp cross in front of the net. Senior midfielder Megan Lienhard coolly slotted home her 10th goal of the season from 10 yards. The Mavericks answered less than three minutes later. Richardson's drove a high 20-yarder off the hands of SPU freshman keeper Jennifer Burns and into the net for a 1-1 tie. "With the wind, you just have to shoot the ball and take a chance," said Richardson, who finished her season with seven goals. UNO took the 1-1 deadlock into intermission with the help freshman defender Whitney Telschaw who nodded away a Falcons' corner kick that was headed for the goal. "It was an amazing season," SPU coach Chuck Sekyra said. "A program in its fifth year, losing 2-1 in overtime to a team that has been here three times before. We're as good as any team in the country and we lost to a great team." Late in regulation, Klosterman pulled one of his three forwards back into the midfield to try and create more chances for the Falcons. "We thought we needed a little more help in the midfield," Klosterman said. "It seemed to give us some more support and we were able to win some balls." The strategy worked to produce one good UNO opportunity, but Burns made a diving save on Beale with seven minutes left in regulation. UNO senior keeper Amy Price, who made five saves, including a diving one with 10:40 left in regulation, was named the tournament's "Defensive Most Valuable Player." She also made a point-blank stop, diving to the feet of senior midfielder Shannon Lovejoy in the 53rd minute. "Second place is not bad," said Lovejoy, one of seven SPU seniors. "We played as many games as we could, we were undefeated up until that last goal and, not to take anything away from them, I thought we deserved (the title)." |
