GAME STATS St. Louis, Mo.- Many of the circumstances surroundings Saturday night's NCAA National Quarterfinal match felt familiar. Just 363 days after the Thunder came back to defeat Washington (Mo.) University 4-2 at Joe Bean Stadium and advance to the National Semifinals, Wheaton and Wash. U. met again, this time at Francis Field in St. Louis. However the final result was very familiar as the Thunder defeated the Bears by a score of 3-1 to advance to the National Semifinals for the second consecutive year.
Wheaton held a 24-18 shot advantage and a 16-7 edge in shots on goal. Wash. U. held a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks.
Kelsey Graham (PICTURED RIGHT) made six saves while allowing one goal in 90 minutes of play. Clara Jacques allowed three goals and made 12 saves in goal for the Bears.
Wash U took control of the match in the opening minutes and placed pressure on the Thunder back line from the start. However, the Thunder were able to counter and found an early opportunity. Just eight minutes into the match
Sarah Guidera (PICTURED LEFT) found a loose ball in the box and pushed it past Jacques and into the net to give Wheaton a 1-0 lead.
“We really weathered the storm early,” stated head coach
Pete Felske. “As we expected, Wash U came out with tremendous energy and intensity and we had to take a lot of pressure in the first twenty minutes before we were able to establish ourselves.”
Play evened as the first half went on, but late in the first half Wheaton started to build their attack and pressure the backline of the Bears. Finally the pressure reached its tipping point in the 42
nd minute when
Annie Hamilton (PICTURED RIGHT) sent a shot to the near corner that beat Jacques and gave Wheaton a 2-0 lead.
Leah DeMoss had a golden opportunity to make a three-goal lead less than a minute later when she was awarded a penalty kick, but couldn't put it on frame and the 2-0 lead held into the halftime break.
Play bogged down in the midfield early in the second half, while the few scoring opportunities were owned by the Thunder. The Bears were able to break onto the scoreboard in the 66
th minute when Abby Starker found Olivia Lillegraven for a one-timer inside the far post cutting the lead to 2-1. The goal broke a streak of 12 consecutive shots for the Thunder.
Rejuvenated, the Bears pushed forward looking for the equalizer but the Thunder were up to the challenge and held strong before building an attack. At the 78:55 mark
Sydney Sharkey (PICTURED LEFT) sent a cross from the right wing to the near post that managed to sail its way into the goal, giving the Thunder some breathing room with a 3-1 lead.
From there Wheaton was able to run out the clock and punch their return ticket to San Antonio.
“Our defense really stepped up big for us tonight,” said Felske. “
Jen Lee had a tremendous game for us,
Alexa Sharkey and
Laura Karsten were solid and
Amanda Brait did a great job keeping everyone together in the back.”
With the victory, Wheaton advances to their seventh Final Four in program history. “It's a great accomplishment for our girls," notes Felske. "With 13 new players we've had to endure a lot of heart attacks but this team has played hard and they've earned it. It'll be a great experience for all of our new girls.”
#3- ranked Washington (Mo.) University finishes their season 19-2-1. Both losses came at the hands of the Thunder.
