Lady Pilots earn title birth in GCAC Championship with 3-1 victory over Crusaders
October 28, 2005
Mobile, AL---In the semi-final round at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Friday night in Mobile, AL, the #3 seed LSUS Lady Pilots took on the #2 seed William Carey College Crusaders. The Crusaders jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute of the first half, but the Lady Pilots responded with three unanswered goals, two off the foot of freshman midfielder Julia Vaughan to take a 3-1 lead into the half. LSUS held off the Crusaders in the second half limiting them to three shots on goal and went on to win their first ever post season match 3-1, and are bound for the GCAC championship game Saturday night versus the University of Mobile Rams.
The Lady Pilots were in control early as they retained possession for the majority of the opening 5:00. Unfortunately for LSUS however, starting net minder Sarah McLean collided with a Crusader forward while diving after a ball in the crease and was very slow to get up. After a walk to the sidelines, McLean decided to remain in goal for the Lady Pilots.
Just two minutes later, the Crusaders were awarded a free kick from 10 yards outside the box which was taken by defender Norma Velasquez. Velasquez booted a shot directly at the wall built by the Lady Pilot defenders which deflected off Michelle Williamson directly to Danielle Princiotta who directed a shot into the bottom right corner of the net putting the Crusaders ahead 1-0.
In the 27th minute the Lady Pilots attempted three consecutive corner kicks which were cleared by the Crusader defense with the last being gathered by Crusader goaltender Courtnie Prather.
McLean made here biggest save of the night at the 20:00 mark after Shannon Steffen blasted a shot from the top of the box. On the ensuing possession, McLean punted the ball to midfield which was gathered by Hannah Jennings who sent Julia Vaughan in all alone with a pass beyond the Crusader defense. Prather sped out of the net to gather the pass but was beat to the ball by Vaughan who chipped home her second goal of the year to tie the score at 1-1. “Tonight was a total team effort and I am just happy to have the chance to contribute,” concluded Vaughan.
Vaughan, a freshman midfielder from Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, LA was kept off the field for the first 13 games of the year as she battled a case of mono, drove home the go ahead goal at the 10:00 mark after a free kick by Shaderia Evans found Calandre Singh who headed a pass to an open Vaughan who struck home what turned out to be the game winner.
“Julia is a huge playmaker who has the ability to hold the ball and beat people one on one. Unfortunately due to health problems she has been absent most of the season, but she played a big part in our first postseason victory today,” proclaimed Lady Pilots head coach Jed Jones of Vaughan.
Just two minutes later the Lady Pilots connected on their third goal after Evans sent a booming kick from midfield which bounced over the entire Crusader defense and was headed in by Katrina Blackwell (13). “We have come very close as a team since our first game it showed in our performance tonight,” concluded Blackwell who leads the Lady Pilots in scoring with 31 points.
LSUS controlled the possession game in the second half and defended their way to a 3-1 victory. The Crusaders managed three shots from outside the box which was not enough on this night as the Lady Pilots avenged a season opening 3-1 loss at the hands of the Crusaders by eliminating WCC from the GCAC Tournament.
“Tonight was a huge win for our program. We did not panic when they scored first, we knew we had a lot of time and that if we capitalized on our chances we would be fine. Julia stepped up tonight, and tomorrow it could be someone else. All of these girls have proven that they are winners and tomorrow they will have a chance to do something very special, which is win a conference championship,” concludes Jones.
In addition to advancing to the GCAC championship game, the Lady Pilots assured themselves a spot in the Region XIII Tournament as the #6 seed. The tournament will begin Tuesday and will feature a first round match between the #3 University of Mobile Rams and the #6 Lady Pilots.
The Lady Pilots dropped a 3-2 decision to the Rams October 16th in Mobile with the winning goal coming by virtue of a penalty kick. The Rams, 9-4-1 are currently ranked 24th in the NAIA and are all that stand between LSUS and their first GCAC championship and advancing to the Final Four in the Region XIII Tournament. “We will have to play them for a third time in two weeks Tuesday night. I don’t think that serves as an advantage for either team, but it will guarantee a hard fought battle. However, our focus is on Saturday night’s match and capturing our goal of winning a GCAC Championship” concludes Jones.
The championship game will be played on the University of Mobile campus with the kick-off scheduled for 7:00pm.
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