Sports - Local Colleges

POSTED: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008

WWU WOMEN'S SOCCER: Vikings withstand late barrage to advance to third round

BELLINGHAM - It's a good thing it was a pleasant fall afternoon on Sunday, Nov. 16.

The sun was all goal keeper Kylie Broadbent had to keep her warm during the first 80 minutes of Western Washington University's NCAA Division II Far West Regional women's soccer playoff game against Cal State Dominguez Hills at Orca Field, as the Toros hardly made her work.

"It definitely helped that it was a warm day," Broadbent said. "It's a whole lot tougher to stay in a game like that if it's cold or raining ... Even when I am not in the game making plays, I'm always in it with my teammates emotionally."

And it's a good thing the senior kept her head in the game, as Cal State suddenly turned up the heat in the final 10 minutes. Broadbent and the Vikings took the Toros' best shots during a furious barrage in the final minutes and made Lucy Miller's second-half goal stand for a 1-0 victory.

Broadbent had to make the last of her eight saves two seconds before the final whistle to preserve the lead and send WWU (16-2-2) on to the Division II Sweet 16, where it will face Seattle Pacific in a third-round game on Friday, Nov. 21, at a site to be determined.

"That (finish) was indicative of our season - we've ended a lot of games in front our own net," Western coach Travis Connell said. "That could drive a lot of coaches crazy, but I have a lot of confidence in our defense and goalkeeper. They bend, but they don't break."

Things started getting interesting for the Vikings defense in the 83rd minute, when Broadbent had to tip a shot from the Toros' Jessica Murphy over the net.

Forty seconds later, Murphy narrowly avoided being offsides and sprinted toward the WWU net again, but Broadbent was again able to dive and make a nice save.

Three minutes later, Cal State Dominguez Hills (14-10) got the first of two corner kicks in the game's final three minutes, but WWU's Stephanie Janigo and Bryn Gibson managed to clear those scoring attempts before the Toros turned them into more trouble for Broadbent.

"Out defense is very talented, and they always play extremely hard," Broadbent said. "They showed a lot of heart today, because they (Cal State) really turned up the heat in the last 10 to 15 minutes there. Our defense had to step it up, but I knew they would."

The Vikings were seriously tested one last time with 36 seconds to play, when the Toros were awarded a free kick just outside the right corner of the WWU box. But WWU answered the challenge one last time, preventing a shot on the crossing pass.

"I think my heart was pounding there at the end," Broadbent said. "But we've been through that situation a number of times this season, and I knew we could do it again."

While the Cal State offense dominated the game's closing minutes, it was Western that dictated things through the first the first 80.

The Vikings continually used their speed on the wings to put pressure on the Toros' net.

"That was our plan coming in," Connell said. "It's what we were able to do last time against them (in a 2-0 WWU regular-season win on Sept. 1). We defended with our offense and tried to keep the pressure on them. We knew our speed wide was going to cause problems for their backs."

Janigo nearly got Western on the board in the 10th minute, when she used her speed to break free up the left side, but Cal State goalie Alyssa Congdon pushed her shot off the near post.

In the 52nd minute, it was Gibson who had a shot from the top of the box altered by Congdon and bounce off the crossbar.

Miller finally broke the scoreless tie at 48:22 on a play started by Jenny Barton winning a header near midfield and getting the ball to Kelly Irving.

"Kelly made a great pass to me," Miller said. "I just touched it once and shot. I thought their goalie got a hand on it, but it got a little bit of the net, and that's all it needed."

With the defense Western showed in the final minutes, it was all the Vikings would need all day to advance to the third round.

Seattle Pacific (18-1-2) beat UC San Diego 3-1 on Saturday to advance to the third round and is looking to avenge its only loss of the season - a 1-0 loss to WWU on Sept. 20 in Bellingham. The two teams tied on Oct. 16 in Seattle.

The winner of Friday's game will meet the winner of the Texas A&M Commerce-Truman State game in a national quarterfinal.

"This is our third time facing them this season," Miller said. "Hopefully we've gotten to know some of their strengths and weakness and not have them turn that against us."

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.