May 16, 2010
Championship Quotes | National Collegiate Championship All-Tournament Teams
Tournament Central
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Top-seeded Stanford was put into an early hole and its last-gasp comeback attempt fell just short in Sunday's NCAA title game at the National Collegiate Championship, as USC held on for a 10-9 victory at Aztec Aquaplex in San Diego.
Stanford (26-3) records its fifth national runner-up finish in the 10-year history of the National Collegiate Championship.
Senior Kelly Eaton scored on four penalty shots in her final game with the Cardinal, while Kim Krueger added a pair of goals. Cassie Churnside, Annika Dries and Alyssa Lo each provided goals for Stanford.
In the cage, junior Amber Oland made seven saves.
Stanford, trailing 10-6 after USC's Kally Lucas scored from the left wing with 4:28 remaining in regulation, rallied back into the game with three straight goals in a span of 1:36. After USC ran down the game clock to 11 seconds, Stanford called timeout to set up one final play. When play resumed, the Cardinal's final attempt failed as Dries' shot went just wide and floated into the end line to give possession to the Women of Troy with only seconds left on the clock.
The game had gotten off to a good start for the Cardinal, as Churnside drew a five-meter penalty in the opening minute and a half to set up Eaton's first goal. Yet USC would answer with four straight goals to take an early 4-1 lead.
Kristen Dronberger scored on the player advantage with 4:50 to go in the first period to equalize in what would become a theme for the Women of Troy. Dronberger's goal was the first of what would be five goals that USC scored while on a 6-on-5 advantage in Sunday's contest.
USC's Patricia Jancso scored the first of her two goals at the 1:53 mark, giving USC a lead it would end up never relinquishing the rest of the way. Into the second period, the USC advantage increased to 4-1 when Joelle Bekhazi scored in the opening minute and Dominique Sardo found the back of the cage around the 4:53 mark.
Stanford finally got back into the scoring column after earning a 6-on-5 in which Churnside found space by the near post and fired home with 3:12 left in the first half. USC's Kally Lucas would get the goal back 31 seconds later on the 6-on-5, and the teams would again trade goals with Eaton hitting a second penalty shot at 2:17 followed by Jancso's second goal just 25 seconds after that.
USC goalie Tumua Anae stopped a skip shot from Krueger on a Stanford 6-on-5 with 22 seconds left in the half, as the Cardinal went into the break trailing 6-3.
The Cardinal, though, would open the second half on fire, as Krueger got things started with a lob shot that got over Anae's reach just 48 seconds into the half. Oland would do her part on defense, denying USC on its 6-on-5 on the ensuing possession. Stanford would then cut its deficit to just one goal at 6-5 as Lo drew the Cardinal's third five-meter penalty, which Eaton again buried into the bottom-left corner at 5:50.
It would stay at 6-5 for the next five minutes-plus, although Stanford's Melissa Seidemann twice hit the woodwork in the frame's final minutes, missing a chance to equalize. USC would fare better with 32 seconds remaining, as Alexandra Kiss' lob got over Oland to give the Women of Troy a 7-5 lead entering the final period.
The USC lead increased to 8-5 just 31 seconds into the final frame as Dronberger scored again, but the Cardinal got it back 20 seconds later as Seidemann drew the team's fourth penalty shot. Anae guessed correctly on Eaton's penalty shot but could not get enough of the shot to prevent it from trickling over the line for Stanford's sixth goal.
Yet USC would answer just 38 seconds later as Kami Craig netted the team's fifth 6-on-5 goal to put the Women of Troy up, 9-6. Lucas would add USC's 10th goal with 4:28 remaining.
With prospects looking bleak, Stanford refused to give up, as Krueger fired home with 2:21 remaining to cut it to 10-7. A USC turnover gave the ball back to the Cardinal, and an exclusion set up Lo's 6-on-5 goal with 1:25 remaining.
With Anae holding the ball as USC looked to take valuable time from the clock, USC was called for a foul, turning possession over. Stanford connected on its third straight chance as Dries tallied a 6-on-5 goal to bring Stanford back to within one at 10-9 with 45 seconds remaining.
USC held onto the ball for nearly the entire 35-second shot clock, dumping it into the corner with 11 seconds left. Stanford called timeout, and on the restart, Dries' final shot went wide and USC was able to run off the final seconds to claim the national title.
Seidemann and Jessica Steffens were named to the National Collegiate Championship All-Tournament First Team following the game, while Dries, Eaton and Krueger were named to the second team.
Stanford finishes the 2010 season with a 26-3 record and earned the MPSF regular season title with a perfect 7-0 conference mark.
USC - 2 4 1 3 = 10
Stanford - 1 2 2 4 = 9
Stanford Goal Scorers: Eaton 4, Krueger 2, Churnside, Dries, Lo
USC Goal Scorers: Dronberger 2, Jancso 2, Lucas 2, Bekhazi, Craig, Kiss, Sardo
Goalie Saves: Oland 7 (S); Anae 8 (USC)