Sept. 5, 2009

Box Score

Coral Gables, Fla. - The Western Carolina women's soccer team was shut out 1-0 to No. 22 Miami in their opening match at the Hurricane Cup on Friday evening, after an initial two and a half hour thunderstorm delay.

Severe weather in the Miami area delayed the first match between Dayton and Navy, forcing the WCU-Miami game to start two-plus hours later than scheduled. Consequently, the first match went into a double-overtime draw, forcing the Catamounts' match to begin at 10:00 p.m.

"We stayed in our hotel (during the delay) and had plenty of time to warm up and get focused," said Catamount coach Tammy DeCesare. "The girl's adjusted to it well. This is why we do Midnight Madness, so when you have adversity like we did tonight, you don't blink."

WCU made the game interesting in the latter minutes. Miami goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo was backed in her net after deflecting a WCU shot at the 87th minute. The Catamounts then forced a corner kick with less than forty seconds remaining in regulation, but it was cleared away, sealing the victory for the Hurricanes.

"We had our opportunities, but it was a little bit too heavy or too shy," noted DeCesare. "I was impressed and excited about the way were able to generate some opportunities tonight."

Miami's Paulette Ricks-Chambers knocked in the game-winning goal with a header from a cross by Brittney Steinbruch at the 34th minute in the first half. With the victory, Miami, ranked No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer National Tournament Poll, improves to 3-1-0, while the Catamounts drop to 2-2-0.

Western Carolina flung nine shots at the Hurricanes, including six in the first half. Senior Nikki Collins placed a shot on goal that was deflected away.

Jenny Matteson put the second shot on goal with a stinger at Alonzo, who again stopped the Catamount surge. Alonzo, a sophomore for Miami, finished with three saves in the match.

Goalkeeper Caitlin Williams played stout defense, shunning away 12 Miami. Williams made three saves in the contest. Miami held the distinct advantage in corners, 7-3. Two players from both sides received yellow cards in the match. Catamount Renee Anderson was shown a card at the 62-minute mark and then the Hurricanes' Brittney Macdonald was cautioned 11 minutes later.

Coach DeCesare said she was impressed with the Catamount's ability to bounce back after a 2-0 loss to South Carolina last week.

"We learned a lot against South Carolina," said DeCesare. "They were able to expose a lot of what we weren't doing well. The girls took it to heart and got up for this game tonight. They brought a level of focus and determination that we need to see from them in every game."

WCU wraps up Hurricane Cup play on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with a match up with the regionally-ranked Dayton Flyers. Dayton (2-0-2) came into this weekend as the No. 1 team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCCA) Mid-Atlantic Regional poll.

Live stats of the match can be found at HurricaneSports.com and CatamountSports.com.