TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- UC Irvine women's soccer survives and advances with a stellar performance in the penalty shootout to top Brown, 1-1 and 4-2 on penalties, Friday evening at Alabama Soccer Stadium.
LATE LIFE
The first half was controlled offensively by Brown (13-2-3) with the match's first 10 shots. UC Irvine (11-5-7) controlled things on the defensive end holding the line with
Glo Hinojosa collecting three saves as the match appeared to head into the half scoreless.
In the final minute, the Bears continued to look for entrance, but the 'Eaters jumped on a loose ball and
Lilli Rask slingshotted
Alyssa Moore forward on the breakaway. Moore closed in on goal and finished to the keeper's right for the 1-0 lead with 27 to go before the half.
EXTRA STRENGTH
The second half began with Brown again in pursuit. Three more Brown shots and a pair of cautions issued still saw a 1-0 scoreless 20 minutes in. The 66th minute saw the match turn as Bear striker Brittany Raphino bearing down on the 18-yard box and was met by Hinojosa just getting a touch before colliding with her and earning a penalty kick. She converted to knot things up 1-1 with just under half an hour to play.
Neither side could muster any dangerous chances down the rest of regulation with the 'Eaters at least testing the keeper twice in the final four minutes, but overtime came in a 1-1 tie.
The first 10-minute period came and went with a pair of harmless tries. The final 10 minutes of overtime were action-packed. Hinojosa came up big early in the frame standing tall to deny a close-range shot on the edge of the six-yard box. The 'Eaters countered with a chance that went just wide before the Bears returned looking for a winner in the final minute. Again they had a golden opprotunity and again Hinojosa donned her superhero cape for an amazing stop to keep things level and end the match in a 1-1 draw.
FINAL SCORE (PKS): UC IRVINE 1 (4), BROWN 1 (2)
Penalties began with Hinojosa controlling the narrative with a dive to save Brown's first penalty and give UCI the upperhand.
Tati Fung nailed her attempt, and Hinojosa responded with another save for a massive advantage. Hinojosa again got a piece of Brown's fourth attempt but could not keep it out, but it didn't matter as the Anteaters converted all of their tries thanks to
Aislynn Crowder,
Erin Covey, and finished by the freshman
Emilie Castagna with the clincher to break the tie.
The Anteaters advance to the NCAA Third Round for a second time in program history joining the 2010 squad that won their First and Second Round matches at home. It's also the seventh draw of the year to UC Irvine extending their single-season record while adding to their unbeaten streak now at six.
Hinojosa came up as the hero with six more saves on the match including three in the second overtime period. After she was unable to stop the penalty in regulation, she came through with two in the shootout for her third and fourth PK saves in her career. Her and the team's shutout streak ended just shy of the program record by three minutes stretching it to 551:40.
Moore's goal is her sixth of the season to match
Destinee Manzo for the team high and adds to her career total now at 12 to lead all active Anteaters. Rask was credited with the assist for her second this year and eighth point.
UC Irvine's Sunday opponent for the Third Round will be the hosts No. 3 Alabama. The match will kick off at 1:00 p.m. local time, 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time at Alabama Soccer Stadium.
