CCAC News
Posted by Amy Strong - Sat, Nov 14, 2009 - [ Women's Soccer ] - Viewed 349 times
Hannah Gonzales stops two penalty kicks in shootout victory
Hannah Gonzales stops two penalty kicks in shootout victory
Trinity Christian College claimed the CCAC tournament championship and for the second year in a row will represent the conference in the NAIA National Tournament! The Trolls, who finished 9-0-1 in the regular season conference schedule, earned the title with a shootout victory over Robert Morris University in the championship game. The game ended in a 0-0 tie after two overtime period, but Trinity took the title with a 4-1 advantage in the penalty kick shoot-out. As conference champions the Trolls (13-4-4) received an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
 

Trinity and Robert Morris played through 110 minutes of soccer without determining a winner and without scoring a goal. Each team had their opportunities to score and each team did well containing their opponent. In the first half the Trolls had a slight shot edge with six attempts to the Eagles' four.

The second period proceeded much like the first period with the Trolls again taking the marginal shot advantage. Yet when regulation time ended the game was still scoreless.

The game advanced into the golden goal overtime periods. In the first 10 extra minutes each team had one shot. In the second overtime period Trinity got off two attempts, while Robert Morris did not threaten the goal. The Trolls created opportunities with three corner kicks in the final minutes. However the overtimes ended and the score was still 0-0.

To decide the outcome, the game was forced into a shoot-out in which each team got five penalty kick attempts to score. Trinity was first on the line and freshman defender Amanda Henderson got things started when she found the lower right corner on a shot that was tipped by the Eagles goalkeeper Jeannette Williams. The Trolls went up 1-0 when Robert Morris' senior defender Anne Meshes' shot was blocked by Trinity keeper Hannah Gonzales.

Junior defender Sarah Tadla found the left lower corner on Trinity's next attempt. Ilana Milkez, a junior midfielder, was successful in the following shot to make it 2-1.

The next shot for the Trolls came from junior midfielder Trisha Airth, who drilled a shot into the upper right corner, giving the keeper no chance to save it. The Trolls gained a big advantage when Gonzales blocked the next shot taken by the Eagles' sophomore midfielder Patricia Nogueria.

With a 3-1 advantage, Trinity put the contest out of reach when senior forward Carly Comerouski drilled a shot to the right side and found the back of the net. That goal made it impossible for the Eagles to come back with only two attempts left, making the final shots meaningless. The Trolls came away with the 4-1 shoot-out advantage and the championship victory.

No. 17 Trinity will move on to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round on November 21. The seeding, pairing, and sites of the opening round games will be released on Sunday, November 15.