University of Washington
Auburn (Second Round)
UW Women Victorious in Second Round of NCAA Tournament
November 14, 2004 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 14, 2004
AUBURN, Ala. - The public address announcer mispronounced Washington coach Lesle Gallimore's name during pre-game introductions, calling her "Gilmore."
"You can call me Happy Gilmore" she exclaimed Sunday after her Huskies won their playoff game, sending them to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's soccer tournament for the second time in school history.
Senior Kelley Schweighart (Solana Beach, Calif.) netted the lone goal on brilliant 18-yard shot early in the first half, lifting 15th-ranked Washington to a 1-0 second-round victory over No. 22 Auburn at AU Soccer Complex.
Washington (16-4-1), the tournament's No. 15 seed, will meet Maryland next weekend. The date and venue will be announced Monday, but it will definitely be held at one of the competing school's home fields. The third-round contest will likely be played at Husky Soccer Field and if so, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m.
"That's a gutty effort by our team, to come this far and to be able to put back-to-back performances against two good teams," said Gallimore. "It's been a tremendous ride. You couldn't hope for anything more from a team."
Washington dispatched Birmingham-Southern 5-0 in Friday's first-round outing to reach the second round of the playoffs for the fifth time in eight NCAA appearances. Sunday's victory helped the Huskies match their longest foray into the tournament as they were also Sweet 16 participants in 2000. UW lost 1-0 to Portland during 2000 in a third-round game played in Seattle.
Maryland moved into the round of 16 by virtue of a 1-0 upset of No. 2 seed Penn State. The Terrapins and Huskies were scheduled to meet during the regular season, but the game was never played. Washington traveled to College Park, Md. for a Sept. 17 contest, but the game was canceled due to thunderstorms and a tornado warning.
"It is a little fateful that we were supposed to play at some point in time this year," Gallimore said of the matchup with Maryland. "We were prepared the last time and maybe we have to do a little bit more work this time, but at least we know about them. We're excited to play them next week."
In their first meeting ever, UW and Auburn sized each other up for the opening seven minutes Sunday without either team mounting much offense. That immediately changed in the eighth minute when Schweighart scored what proved to be the decisive goal on the first shot of the game.
Tina Frimpong (Vancouver, Wash./Hudson's Bay) set up the scoring play, getting open in the right corner before feeding a pass to the top of the box. Schweighart had time to collect the pass and direct a strike from the right side into the upper left corner of the goal at 7:04.
That was Schweighart's fourth goal of the season, her third of the game-winning variety.
"I remember Tina getting the ball and I wanted to pop out. Before she even played the ball to me, I knew the back post, upper corner was open," Schweighart described. "I knew that we wanted to get a goal in the first 15 minutes and that's what we did. I'm so happy. It's unreal. This is what we've worked for all year."
Washington had numerous opportunities to extend its lead, the best being a blast by Frimpong in the 68th minute that hit the crossbar. She gathered the rebound and sent a subsequent shot over the goal.
In the 75th minute, Kim Taylor (Woodland Hills, Calif.) found herself behind the Tiger defense in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Megan Rivera. Her 10-yard attempt was smothered by Rivera.
Auburn (15-4-2) lost for only the second time in its last 14 games. The Tigers most dangerous scoring opportunity came with 12 minutes remaining in the game when Courtney Crandall's 20-yard free kick glanced off the crossbar and over the goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Rasmussen (Gig Harbor, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) registered four saves for the Huskies who were outshot by a slim 10-9 margin. Rasmussen has nine shutouts this season, including a current streak of four consecutive games without surrendering a goal.
Rivera was credited with three saves for Auburn, including a diving stop to her right of a hard 61st-minute shot by Nikki Gamble (Oak Harbor, Wash./Oak Harbor.).
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT -- 2nd Round
(#15) Washington 1, (#22) Auburn 0
Sunday, Nov. 14, 2004
AU Soccer Complex; Auburn, Ala.
Scoring
-- 1, UW, Kelley Schweighart (Tina Frimpong), 7:04.Shots -- UW 9, AU 10.
Saves -- UW 4 (Kelsey Rasmussen), AU 3 (Megan Rivera).
Corner Kicks -- UW 1, AU 3.
Fouls --- UW 18, AU 7.
Offsides -- UW 4, AU 0.
Attendance -- 647.
Records:
Washington 16-4-1.
Auburn 15-4-2.
