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NCAA women's tournament Miller strikes and Arizona eliminates Weber State 1-0.
Arizona (11-7-3) advanced to a November 20 Round-of-16 meeting with the winner of No. 1 Portland's game at Nebraska. In a battle of Wildcats, Weber State oushot UA 20-11, 15-5 after intermission, but was shut out by seven saves by sophomore goalkeeper McCall Smith. In the 41st minute, UA junior midfielder Erin Bevacqua passed the ball from outside of the penalty area to Miller who turned an drove the ball in the far left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead. It was Miller's 19th goal of the season and second of the NCAA tournament. "Being up a goal in the first half turned out to be the key," UA coach Dan Tobias said. Less than three minutes into the second half, Arizona sophomore defender Kaity Heath earned a red card, reducing the Wildcats to 10 players. "It is not common to have to play 43 minutes down a man," Tobias said. Weber State was "a very tough team." Miller took to the first shot of the game, about 90 seconds in. The first shot by WSU (15-5-1) hit the top of the left post in the third minute. Heath's free kick from 20 yards was saved by WSU senior goalkeeper Kandice Golar in the 16th minute. Golar recorded four saves. Smith made a diving stop to keep Weber of the board in the 55th minute. Less than a minute later, Arizona freshman forward Gianna DeSavario drilled a shot off the crossbar. With six minutes remaining, Smith punched a shot by freshman midfielder Hayley McCoy over the bar. |
