CVAC soccer semis: Lady Trojans bow out

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on October 29, 2006 2:02 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- A Belmont Abbey cross into the box skipped off the wet turf and deflected off a Trojan player in the 106th minute as No. 3 seed Mount Olive 2-1 in double overtime in the semifinal round of the 2006 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Women's Soccer Tournament Friday at Trojan Field.

The match was scoreless until the 57th minute when April Jacobs carried the ball to the end line left of the box and found Lyndsay Brennan at the near post to put Mount Olive on top 1-0. The assist was the 19th of the season for Jacobs, who entered the match tied for first in the nation in total assists.

Belmont Abbey answered just two minutes later on a similar play as Randi Collerette slipped a defender and crossed the ball into the box to Erin Kolb, who scored from 15 yards out to tie the match. Both teams pressured in the final 30 minutes, but the two teams headed for overtime for the second time in their last four meetings against each other.

Mount Olive narrowly missed getting the win in the final minute of the first overtime, but Kirsten White's 20-yard shot went just wide of the left post.

Belmont Abbey pulled out the win 5:14 into the second overtime when the Crusaders played the ball into the Trojan box. The ball took a tricky bounce off the wet ground and deflected off a Trojan player into the goal.

"It's a tough way to lose, but it was a great game and this has been a great year," White said. "I'm already excited about next year."

The match marked Belmont Abbey's fifth consecutive one-goal win over Mount Olive.

"It's always a great battle between Belmont Abbey and Mount Olive. At one point, I was thinking penalty kick (shootout) for sure. It was an unfortunate break for Mount Olive, but fortunate for us," Belmont Abbey head coach Glad Bugariu said.

Shots were even at 10 apiece. Goalkeeper Ali O'Steen finished with seven saves for Mount Olive, while Belmont Abbey goalkeeper Anna Wells finished with six saves.

Mount Olive, which won 11 of its final 14 matches, finishes the season at 15-7-0. Belmont Abbey improves to 15-5-1.

I thought it was a well played game," Mount Olive coach Chris Shaw said. "It was very even and the stats bear that out. It's a tough way to finish, but we continue to keep building and this year has been another step in the right direction."