CSR (Women's Soccer Team Advances to National Quarterfinals With Dramatic Win Over Denison)

CALVIN MID-DAY SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 17, 2006

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 1, Denison 0 (2 OT)
Messiah (PA) 2, Rochester 0

SWEET 16 AT UNIV. OF ROCHESTER
(Recaps written by U. of Rochester SID Dennis O'Donnell)
 
GAME TWO:

#2 Calvin 1, Denison 0 (2 OT):

Rochester, New York (November 17, 2006) - Jill Capel scored on a
breakaway against the run of play with 3:50 left in the second sudden
death overtime to give Calvin College a 1-0 victory over Denison
University in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer
Championships at Edwin Fauver Stadium.

 Capel's goal pushes the Knights into the Elite 8 against
defending champion Messiah College. Calvin (22-0-0) will be making its
first-ever appearance in the national quarterfinals. That game will be played
at 1 pm Saturday at Fauver Stadium. The winner goes to the Final Four in
Florida
over the Thanksgiving Weekend.

The game was less than four minutes away from heading to a
penalty kick tiebreaker when Leah Scholten hit a long ball upfield that
Capel collected and rushed towards goal. There was some indecision on
the part of the Big Red defense. Goalkeeper Liz Gillette rushed off the
line and dove. Capel's low shot got under the goalie's dive and rolled
slowly into the open net.

 Calvin head coach Mark Recker has seen his forwards do this
a great deal in fashioning a 22-0 season. "I've seen Jill get through so
many times in a four year period," Recker said. "We push the ball
upfield to get the seams that we can before the defense can get
structured."

It's not full counterattacking soccer, but the Knights
eschew the slow steady buildup and look for Capel and Sara Weesies as
frontrunners a great deal. Early in the second half, Weesies broke
through and rifled one about a yard outside the right post as the
Denison faithful held its collective breath.

Denison (15-5-2) controlled much of the midfield and its defense came
in having allowed only one goal in the last five matches. Today, the Big
Red held Calvin to six shots - only one on goal.

 "They have two good strikers," Denison coach Gail Murphy
said of Calvin. "We wanted to keep them from turning (towards goal)."

 Recker was content to let the Big Red control the center of
the pitch. "They had better management of the midfield," he said. "With
our three backs, we were fine. Our center back, Ashley Bolen, is one of
the best in the nation. The two wing backs are confident. Julie (Litts)
is a bright player with some savvy. She gets inside strikers' heads.
Tricia (DeVries) is gifted with a hard work rate."

Recker preaches a never-give-up style for his forwards. "I
tell my strikers 'go at the defense. If you go 10 times and they stop
you eight, the other two count'," he said.

"It came down to a mistake in the back," Murphy said. "We're
not gonna sidestep that."

        
GAME ONE
#11 Messiah 2, #7 Rochester 0:

Rochester, New York (November 17, 2006) - Annie Futato and Stef Rowe
scored a goal apiece as defending national champion Messiah College
earned a 2-0 victory over the University of Rochester at Edwin Fauver
Stadium here today.

The victory puts the Falcons (17-2-0) into the Elite 8
against Calvin College, a 1-0 winner over Denison University in double
overtime. The game will be played at 1 pm Saturday at Fauver Stadium.
The winner earns a trip to the Final Four in Florida over the
Thanskgiving Weekend.

Steady pressure over a 12-minute period in the first half
was rewarded with the game's first goal. Messiah's Avie Fitzgerald took
a free kick from 30 yards out. Her shot for the top left corner was
parried by Rochester goalkeeper Molly Leitch. The rebound fell to Futato
and her followup hit the crossbar. The rebound bounced to Futato again
and she headed it into the net at 17:43.

In the second half, Rowe scored against the run of play,
capitalizing when Rochester couldn't connect on a free kick. The Falcons
counterattacked, Cali Pitchel crossed the ball to Rowe and she slotted
it home for her team-leading 23rd goal of the season.

 Both coaches recognized Messiah's ball-control skills as a
key, particularly to the opening goal. "Our key was to possess the
ball," said Messiah coach Scott Frey who previously served as the head men's
soccer coach at Alma in the MIAA. "Rochester is very athletic; they
play fast and hard. We worked to keep it on the ground and change the
field. We did a great job."

"They did a good job of possession the ball and holding off
our pressure," said Rochester coach Terry Gurnett. "They did not allow
us to win it."

Frey credited his central midfield, citing citing Savannah
Stolzenburg, Rowe, and Kaci Klynstra along with his four backs as
crucial to the success. Rachel Horning was one of his most dangerous
players - lofting long flip throwins to the crease and hitting dangerous
crosses into the box. "She's quick and can cut it," Frey said. "The
challenge was to get her the ball. When she does get it, something will
happen."

Rochester regrouped after the mid-first half surge by the
Falcons. While not managing to score, the Yellowjackets did serve notice
they weren't done. "The players off the bench provided energy to turn
the tide a little bit," Gurnett said. It provided a lift heading into
the locker room.

A graduate of Messiah, Frey knew it was far from over. Rochester's rally was
good -in a way - for Messiah. "At halftime, we told the kids that this team
isn't going to go away simply because we're up a goal. At the start of
the second half, they came at us."

The Yellowjackets did flex some offensive muscle in the
second period, outshooting the Falcons 8-1 and tightening the defense.
Messiah earned three second half corner kicks, but couldn't get a shot
from any of them.

"Messiah does a nice job of running into space," Gurnett
analyzed, "so that when a player receives the ball, she has two or three
options."

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Nov 17 17:44:44 2006