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Division I NCAA women's tournament Weimer's late header sends Penn State past Santa Clara 2-1.
The Nittany Lions' victory was not complete without a pair of saves by senior goalkeeper Erin McLeod in the final two minutes of a defensive struggle. Only 15 shots were taken in the match, eight by Santa Clara (17-5-2) with PSU holding a 5-4 edge in shots on frame. Next Friday, Penn State (23-0-1) will face top-ranked Portland (22-0-1) in a semifinal game in College Station, Tex, featuring Division I's only undefeated teams and top two scorers. UP senior striker Christine Sinclair has 37 goals. Portland disposed of visiting No. 5 Notre Dame 3-1 today, helped by two goals by red-shirt freshman Megan Rapinoe. One minute after Wiemer shot over SCU junior keeper Julie Ryder, only to see the Broncos' defense clear the ball off its goal-line, the Lions were on the attack again. PSU freshman forward Sheree Gray penetrated the left side of the penalty area and crossed to Weimer who delivered the header for the 2-1 lead at 80:39. In the 88th minute, SCU freshman midfielder Amanda Poach drilled a bending shot on net off a corner kick, but McLeod make the save amid a swarm of bodies. With 15 seconds left, junior midfielder Elyse Shelger sent the Broncos' last gasp on net, but McLeod again came up with a diving save. SCU went ahead 1-0 with 56:54 gone when senior defender Micaela Esquivel nailed a shot from the left side of the penalty area. The play started with sophomore forward Jordan Angeli varying into the center of the box, but having her shot blocked by the Penn State defense. The ball caromed to Esquivel who finished into the right side of the net. "I want to thank my team for a great season this year. We really did have a great season," SCU coach Jerry Smith said. "We're disappointed ending our season here at Penn State, but I'm real proud of my team today. It was a pretty dead-even game, and for us to come out here in this environment, I thought we played pretty well." The Lions tied the game at 1-1 with an own goal at 63:31. Soon after Poach was cautioned, McLeod sent the ensuing free kick to Weimer who turned and lofted a soft touch pass over several defenders. Senior midfielder Carmelina Moscato headed the ball toward goal and, as both teams scrambled for the ball, Broncos freshman defender Danielle Potts kicked it into her own net. In the 76th minute, McLeod made another difficult stop, denying SCU junior striker Tina Estrada, who had broken free in the middle of the field and had a clear chance at the goal. PSU had a good chance in the 14th minute when freshman midfielder Allie Long beat a defender and went deep into the right corner, but her cross into the box went just beyond the reach of red-shirt freshman midfielder Zoe Bouchelle. In the 32nd minute, Long again carried past several Broncos defenders and took a shot from the top of the box, but Ryder made the save. Ryder also stopped a potential Lions scoring opportunity in the 31st minute when Gray sent a low right-to-left cross that Ryder intercepted. PSU's best chance came in the 44th minute when junior midfielder Jean Rettig sent a free kick from just above the penalty area soaring just over the crossbar. Lions sophomore defender Denay Riley made a big play, blocking Poach's blast. Poach later took a ball in the face in the 32nd minute and left the game for nearly four minutes, but PSU could not exploit the manpower advantage. |
