Box Score
San Antonio, TX... The magical run through the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament came to a close for The College of New Jersey as the Lions saw their quest for a chance at a fourth national title come up a goal short falling to Messiah College on Friday.
The Falcons claimed the national semifinal contest by the score of 1-0 at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
TCNJ finished another successful campaign with a mark of 20-3-1 marking the second time the last three seasons they have hit the 20-win plateau.
Top-ranked and unbeaten Messiah moves into the national title game with a record of 24-0-1 as they seek their second straight title.
This marked the seventh time since 2000 that the Lions and Falcons have met in the NCAA Tournament with Messiah holding a 5-2 edge in those games.
The only goal of the game came with 24:24 remaining in regulation as Messiah’s Joanna Haqq (Belchertown, MA) carried the ball up the far wing working her way into the penalty area. Once in the area, she chipped and shot from near the end line that went just over the outstretched arms of Lion senior keeper Jessica Clarke (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley).
That goal ended an impressive string of not allowing a goal by the Lions as the team went 8:16:59 scoreless minutes dating back into October. It was also the lone goal TCNJ allowed in five tournament games.
“I think we played pretty even,” noted Lion senior Briann McDonough (North Arlington, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy), who has been on three final four teams. “I don’t think we got enough shots off or put enough offensive pressure on them as we would have liked.”
The Falcons held an 18-13 edge in overall shots, while the each team was awarded five corner kicks.
In the opening half, both teams had with Clarke making a pair o nice saves to keep the game scoreless. Her first save came off of a Messiah corner kick as she smothered an attempt from Katelyn Musser (Columbia, PA) early in the game and then made an even better stop with a diving save on partial break away by Amanda Naeher (Seymour, CT).
One of TCNJ’s better chances came from long range as freshman Amy Van Dyk (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) let loose with a hard rising shot from the top of the arc that went over the cross bar.
Like the opening half, the chances were there early in the second as sophomore Eva Gimello (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) cleared away a loose ball after Clarke made another save.
It was a key play by Messiah defender Molly Bletz (Carlisle, PA) as she headed out a quality scoring chance from Lion sophomore Annie McCarthy (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial).
Minutes later Clarke made another spectacular save denying Messiah’s Emily Cope (Dillsburg, PA) from close range.
Clarke finished with four saves for the Lions and capped her standout career as the program’s all-time leader in wins (72) and shutouts (48).
The game marked the final appearance for TCNJ’s senior class as that group appeared in an impressive three final fours in their careers to go along with three New Jersey Athletic Conference champions.
“Our seniors are a very special group,” TCNJ head coach Joe Russo stated. “You are talking about three out of four years in the final four. We’ve had a remarkable run.”
While Russo praised his senior class for their effort and dedication to the program, he also is looking forward to getting back onto the field next season with his younger players building on this experience.
“We will miss them, it’s a special group of seniors, but there were long stretches of the game that we played eighth freshmen on the field,” Russo explained. “So on one hand we will miss the kids who will be leaving, but I think the future bodes to be very, very bright for us.”