COLUMBUS, Ohio – Oregon State’s Melinda Ingalls scored in the 98th minute to oust the Florida women’s soccer team from the NCAA Tournament Sunday at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The loss was the easliest exit in four seasons for the Gators (16-6-2), who were the No. 3 regional seed. Coach Becky Burleigh’s Florida teams had reached the round of 16 in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The victory moves Oregon State (14-7-1) into the Round of 16 to play at Notre Dame this Friday.
“We never seemed comfortable today,” Burleigh said. “We didn’t play with any rhythm. You have to credit Oregon State for disrupting our rhythm. We just didn’t create enough dangerous opportunities today.”
The game-winning goal happened quickly as the first 10-minute overtime period was winding down. After a Florida turnover, Oregon State’s Rachael Axon moved the ball down the middle of the field and found Ingalls in the box. She beat Florida goalkeeper Katie Fraine from 16 yards out.
Florida had its chances against Oregon State and goalie Colleen Boyd. Several of them, however, didn’t result in a shot as Florida was unable to make the crucial pass. Boyd was kept busy but never had to make a save.
In the opening 45 minutes, sophomore Jazmyne Avant played the ball down the sideline and centered it to a teammate, but no one was there as Boyd corralled the ball.
Twelve minutes into the second half, McKenzie Barney was fed in the middle of the box by Lindsay Thompson but Barney’s shot soared over the crossbar. Just a few minutes later Erika Tymrak played the ball from the top right corner of the box into the middle but there was no Gator there. Tymrak replayed the same pass shortly afterward but Thompson couldn’t get squared away to take a shot.
In the 61st minute, senior Angela Napolitano sent a diagonal ball from 20 yards to Thompson at the far post corner but Oregon State cleared the ball out. Napolitano then sent another cross through the box, but Tahnai Annis missed a header.
Just before regulation ended, Tymrak tried to hit Barney, who was making a run, but Boyd intercepted the pass to end the threat.
“They were pretty disruptive in the middle of the field. They had a lot of midfielders and they were good at reading where we wanted to play the ball so it was hard for us to keep a string of passes together,” Thompson said. “That is usually our focus. Today we were probably too focused on trying to score a goal.”
The match was the final one for five seniors – Jessica Eicken, Lauren Hyde, Caitlin Howard, Tricia Townsend and Napolitano. During their four seasons, they were 66-21-11. The majority of the team returns next season as 22 of Florida’s 30 players are sophomores and freshmen. Florida is the only team ranked in the Top 15 that had all five of its
Florida says farewell to its five-member senior class – Jessica Eicken, Lauren Hyde, Caitlin Howard, Angela Napolitano and Tricia Townsend – who finished their careers with a 66-21-11 four-year record. The majority of the team returns next season, as 22 of Florida’s 30 members are freshmen or sophomores.
Fraine, who returns, believes the memory of the loss will stay with her teammates as motivation for next season.
“Everyone is really upset right now. Being such a young team, I think it will be really good for us in the spring and come fall,” said Fraine, who made six saves. “So we need to make sure that the freshmen coming in and the rest of the team coming back realize that this is one loss and we will grow from it. We need to bring everything that we’ve learned from this year into next year.”
NCAA WOMEN’S DIVISION I SOCCER TOURNAMENT
STANFORD REGIONAL
SECOND ROUND
Saturday at Stanford, Calif.
(1) Stanford 2, Brigham Young 0
Sunday at Santa Clara, Calif.
Oklahoma State vs. (4) Santa Clara
Sunday at Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin 1, (3) UCF 0
Sunday at Chestnut Hill, Mass.
(2) Boston College 2, Connecticut 0
THIRD ROUND
Nov. 20, 21 or 22
Oklahoma State/Santa Clara winner at (1) Stanford (22-0-0)
Wisconsin (11-5-6) at (2) Boston College (17-3-2)
QUARTERFINALS
Nov. 27, 27 or 29
Third-round winners
UCLA REGIONAL
SECOND ROUND
Sunday at Los Angeles
(1) UCLA 5, San Diego State 0
Sunday at State College, Pa.
Virginia 6, (4) Penn State 2
Sunday at Dayton, Ohio
(3) Virginia Tech 3, Dayton 1
Sunday at Portland, Ore.
(2) Portland 2, Washington 1
THIRD ROUND
Nov. 20, 21 or 22
Virginia (10-5-6) at (1) UCLA (19-2-1)
(3) Virginia Tech (16-7-0) at (2) Portland (20-1-0)
QUARTERFINALS
Nov. 27, 28 or 29
Third-round winners
NORTH CAROLINA REGIONAL
SECOND ROUND
Sunday at Chapel Hill, N.C.
(1) North Carolina 4, Georgia 0
Sunday at College Park, Md.
(4) Maryland 1, Washington State 0
Sunday at Winston-Salem, N.C.
(3) Wake Forest 3, West Virginia 0
Sunday at Columbia, S.C.
(2) South Carolina 1, Rutgers 0
THIRD ROUND
Nov. 20, 21 or 22
(4) Maryland (14-5-2) at (1) North Carolina (19-3-1)
(3) Wake Forest (15-5-2) at (2) South Carolina (19-3-2)
QUARTERFINALS
Nov. 27, 28 or 29
Third-round winners
FLORIDA STATE REGIONAL
SECOND ROUND
Sunday at South Bend, Ind.
(2) Notre Dame 6, Central Michigan 1
Sunday at Columbus, Ohio
Oregon State 1, (3) Florida 0, OT
Sunday at Baton Rouge, La.
Texas A&M 1, (4) Louisiana State 1 (Texas A&M wins shootout, 4-2)
Sunday at Tallahassee, Fla.
(1) Florida State 3, California 0
THIRD ROUND
Nov. 20, 21 or 22
Oregon State (14-7-1) at (2) Notre Dame (18-3-1)
Texas A&M (16-6-2) at (1) Florida State (18-4-1)
QUARTERFINALS
Nov. 27, 28 or 28
Third-round winners
COLLEGE CUP FINAL FOUR
At Texas A&M, College Station, Texas
Friday, Dec. 4 semifinals
UCLA Regional winner vs. Stanford Regional winner (ESPNU)
North Carolina Regional winner vs. Florida State Regional winner (ESPNU)
Sunday, Dec. 6 championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)