Nov. 4, 2006
Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - For the second straight year UNLV has claimed the Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer tournament championship, as the Rebels topped 10th-ranked and top-seeded Utah 6-5 in a penalty kick shootout on Saturday afternoon from Ute Field.
It was the second straight game the Rebels won in this year's tournament on a PK shootout, after UNLV advanced past 19th-ranked and second-seed BYU 4-1 on Thursday after their semifinal game in a double-overtime scoreless tie. Saturday's game also finished officially as a double-overtime tie, which marked the first time this year a MWC team has held Utah scoreless. The Utes had won all seven of their regular season games by shutout, and defeated New Mexico 2-1 in the semifinals on Thursday.
"We came out strong and on fire, we knew they were a tough team, ranked 10th in the nation, but we beat BYU on Thursday, so we knew we could compete and play with them," said UNLV head coach Kat Mertz. "We also were playing for something, we needed to win to get back to the NCAA Tournament, so I think they gave us an edge as well."
The Utes controlled the first half of the game, keeping possession for the majority of the half while holding a 7-3 advantage on shots. Though Utah held an 8-3 edge on shots in the second half, the Rebels were more active in the second half, taking the game to Utes and challenging every 50-50 ball, which helped UNLV disrupt the Utah offense enough in the second half.
Both team's best chances came in the second half. Utah's Jen Christoffers came down the right side and loaded a high shot towards the goal that Rebel goalkeeper Alicia Lugo had to leave her feet and make a leaping save to stop the shot in the 67th minute. Utah then nearly scored on their own goal near the end of the second half, as Kiley Jones attempted to clear out a cross from Jessica Destito, but her kick went back towards her own goal, and Ute goalkeeper Ashley Mason recovered just in time to tip the ball over the cross bar and keep the game scoreless.
Utah and Utah both had a few chances in the first overtime, with Utah getting three shots to two for UNLV, and the Utes had three more shots in the second extra period, but Lugo saved all three shots in the second overtime, part of her career-high 11 saves in the game.
With the game going into the PK shootout, the first four players for both teams all made their shots. Utah began the fifth round with Adele Letro seeing her PK blocked by Lugo, but it was ruled that Lugo moved early, giving Letro another shot. Letro connected this time, but freshman Taylor Fuentes placed her shot past Mason to tie the shootout at 5-5, sending it to the sixth round. Melissa Crespo was up for the Utes, and sent her shot high over the net, setting up the Rebels for the potential win. UNLV's Armani Rice sealed it, blasting a shot off the crossbar and down into the goal to give the Rebels the tournament title.
"It just took a matter of believing when I was at that line that we were going to win," said Rice. "Though they called Lugo back after her block, when it got back to me as the sixth shooter, I knew I just had to believe in myself and my teammates, and that helped me take the shot, helped me be more confident in my kick."
"I was confident in my team going into the PK, and I knew Armani could win it if it was on her shoulders," said Lugo. "Today was another fun game for me, I was excited, dancing between the extra time, this is what we came out for this year.
Senior forward Tanya Roberts, who scored the clinching PK against BYU on Thursday and converted her PK against Utah, was named the Tournament MVP. Roberts was also named to the All-Tournament team, along with Brie Kuhne, Lugo, and Katie Carney.
With the win, UNLV has now won a MWC championship for three straight years, after claiming the regular season crown in 2004, and winning the tournament title in back to back years after topping New Mexico 1-0 in overtime in last year's championship game.
The Rebels will find our their opening opponent in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, as the 2006 bracket will be announced live on ESPNews between 12-1 pm PST. The first and second rounds will take place on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12, on selected campus sites.
