By: Michael L. Damon
mdamon@jjay.cuny.edu
(212) 237-8322
Box Score BOX SCORE
Randall's Island, N.Y.— The John Jay women's soccer team played to a 1-1 tie with CCNY in the semifinal round of the CUNYAC / Applebee's Championship. But the Bloodhounds defeated the Beavers 4-1 on penalty kicks to advance to the championship for the first time ever. They will play the College of Staten Island on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Ichan Stadium.
“The girls worked hard,” said head coach
Kamal Haruna. “We have to keep it up. CSI is a good team, so we have to limit our mistakes against them.”
After a scoreless tie at halftime, the No. 2 seed Beavers, took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Francis Tapia at 53:55.
But the lead lasted not even two and a half minutes as
Bergelie Louis netted her team-leading seventh goal of the season as the CCNY goalkeeper Nicole Carroll was out of position to stop the ball from bouncing in to tie the score.
Both teams failed to capitalize on other points in the game.
In the first half, CCNY had a golden opportunity to take the lead, but failed, as Bloodhounds' goalkeeper
Marcelina Kopec was out of position. But Beavers forward Jessica Salas fired a shot from point blank range at the empty goal that banged off the post to preserve the tie.
In the second half,
Alexis Ochoa took a pair of shots that would have given the Bloodhounds a 2-1 lead. She took a shot that ricocheted off the cross bar. Then a few minutes later, she blasted a shot that was saved by a diving Carroll.
After a pair of scoreless overtimes, the game resulted in a tie to set the stage for a shootout with the winner advancing into the championship game.
The Bloodhounds made their first four penalty kicks, while the Beavers only made one, as John Jay goes to their first ever championship game.
Penalty kicks were made first by
Brenda Pitts, then
Alexis Ochoa, then
Danielle Bassett, then
Stephannie Rengifo to secure the victory.
The Bloodhounds maintained control for most of the game. They outshot CCNY 25-16 in the contest. Pitts took a match-high six shots, while Louis and Ochoa took four each.
Kopec made four saves for John Jay, while Carroll made 10 for the Beavers.
