Nov. 9, 2007
FULLERTON, CA - No. 3 seeded Cal Poly took only three shots on the night, but two of those found the back of the net as the Mustangs held off No. 2-seeded Long Beach State, 2-1, in the first semifinal match of the 2007 Big West Conference Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday night at Titan Stadium.
Cal Poly improved to 8-9-2 overall on the year and 6-0 all-time in Big West semifinal matches. The Mustangs advance to the tournament championship match for the second straight year and the sixth time in the seven-year history of the tournament.
They will face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 4 UC Irvine and No. 1 Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
The Mustangs, who had lost to the 49ers last weekend by a 3-1 score, broke onto the scoreboard first after the two sides played to a scoreless first half.
Ashley Vallis netted her second goal of the year after teammate Monica Hemenez drew the Long Beach State goalkeeper off her line and sent a cross to Vallis on the back side.
All Vallis had to do was chest the ball in to the empty net to give Cal Poly the 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute thanks to a fortunate ricochet off the crossbar.
Sharon Day took the initial shot from the right side that hit hard off the left side of the crossbar directly to the feet of Carissa Voegele, who tapped the ball into the open net.
LBSU's Lindsay Bullock cut the deficit in half in the 83rd minute after possession went back and forth in the Cal Poly defensive third.
Bullock juggled the ball at the top of the box before finally settling and nestling her shot just under the cross bar to make it 2-1.
A frantic final eight minutes saw Long Beach State take the final four shots of the match - two of those blocked by the Cal Poly defense and two more skirting just wide of the net.
The 49ers unleashed a barrage of 21 shots on the night - seven of those on frame - led by five shots apiece by Hayley Bolt and Kristen Kiefer.
The Mustangs' Alli Tramel made six saves on the night in the victory.