LA JOLLA – To have a future, the Chico State women’s soccer team had to make history in Thursday’s opening round of the NCAA Championship Tournament. The Wildcats certainly played a match that will make its way into the record books, and one that they’ll never forget, beating long-time nemesis Seattle Pacific 4-3 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless draw to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the history of the program.
Molly Downtain stepped up to the penalty spot needing a make to win it for the Wildcats, who had made three of their first four shots while defending National Champion Seattle Pacific was making three of five in the best-of-five contest. Downtain, not known for her finesse, pounded a shot into the left corner of the net, setting off a beautiful celebration full of fist pumps, hugs, and tears.
After losing in the first round in three of the past five seasons on penalty kicks or in overtime, this time the Wildcats were finally moving on to the second round.
“What a game. What a battle,” said Wildcats Head Coach Kim Sutton, a tear making its way down the right side of her face. “I’ve been telling this team since day one that we’re good enough to get to the Final Four, and I think we proved that tonight by beating the defending National Champions.”
Even though the match will go into the books as Chico State’s NCAA record-breaking ninth tie of the season, Thursday marked the first time that the Wildcats have walked off the field victoriously against Seattle Pacific, having entered the match 0-7-2 all-time against the Falcons, who twice knocked Chico State out of the NCAA Tournament. They did so on penalty kicks in 2004, and then in double-overtime in 2005.
“I told them team coming into this game that they had a chance to do what no Chico State team before them had ever done,” said Sutton. “They responded by playing the best soccer they have all season. Seattle Pacific has a great program, and that’s an understatement, so it’s not like it’s been some horrible issue that we’ve never beaten them. But we’ve played them so close so many times… It feels so good to finally get over that hump.”
The Wildcats, seeded No. 6 in the West Region, advance to Saturday’s second round against No. 2 seed UC San Diego at 7 p.m. Chico State beat UC San Diego 2-0 at home back on Sept. 20. Saturday’s winner advances to the Sweet 16 on Nov. 20 where they’ll face No. 1 Cal State L.A., No. 4 Dixie State, or No. 5 Cal State Dominguez Hills. If the Wildcats win, because they are the lowest seed remaining, they’ll be on the road.
The heartbreak of past years certainly served as motivation for Thursday’s victory, but it also may have served as the key to Chico State’s success in the shootout. Because of being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament twice in the last six seasons on penalty kicks, the team has been practicing them at least once a week all season long.
Sutton, Downtain, and senior Ali Sward all credited that time for the shootout victory, claiming it made the five shooters calm and confident.
Calm and confidence are certainly not words used to describe most freshmen in a shootout situation, but Sadi’ Stouder certainly was. After Seattle Pacific made its first shot, Souder smoothly and easily knocked her shot into the upper-right V. A Seattle Pacific miss wide right then opened a door for the Wildcats, and Blake Lopes took advantage with a blast through the fingertips of Falcons’ goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson for a 2-1 edge. Dickinson made the diving save on her next opportunity, however, and coupled with a Seattle Pacific make, knotted the teams at three-apiece.
Seattle Pacific’s Janae Godoy and Wildcats’ freshman Christine Kearney were next, and both scored found the net with authority to make it 3-3.
One kicker for each team remained.
Perhaps trying to get too creative against Wildcats goalkeeper Natalie Bensky, who had turned away one of two penalty kicks attempted against her during the season, the Falcons’ Taylor Sawyer chipped her shot over the goal, setting up Downtain’s shootout-winner.
“I was kind of hoping that it didn’t come down to me to be honest with you,” said Downtain, a team captain and unquestionably the leader of the team’s defensive unit. “But I was confident when I stepped up there because of all the time we’ve spent practicing penalty kicks. I don’t really remember the kick. I just know it felt amazing when I saw the ball go into that net.”
The first half was mostly a stalemate, with Seattle Pacific notching the lone shot on goal prior to intermission. The Wildcats were certainly making a good impression with some of their best soccer since early in the season, attacking aggressively and looking up to the task in the midfield and on defense. Stouder, who made her first start of the season due to injuries to regular midfielders Kelsey Ikemoto and Michelle Grek, was playing well, as were Kasey Wall, who normally starts in the back third but was moved into the midfield for the first time this season, and Kearney, who started in place of Wall in the back.
Chico State looked even better in the second half and was on the precipice of taking the lead with 18 minutes to play when Lopes’ corner kick found its way to the head of Wall at the far post, but Dickinson got there just in time with a diving save. By that point in the match, the Wildcats were finding success working the corners of the field to get corners or crosses on a consistent basis. They took six corner kicks in the half and another in overtime.
SPU got its best chance five minutes into the first overtime when Megan Lindsay hit a rocket from 30 yards that had Benskey leaping high to punch over the top. Bensky, the Wildcats’ fourth-year senior, made five saves on the night and got some help from Sarah Steele, who knocked another ball off the line. The shutout was Bensky’s ninth of the season and the 13th of her career, moving her into fourth on the school’s career list and fifth on the single-season list.
Though the Wildcats failed to score again for the fourth time in the last five matches, it should be noted that Lisa Webster, Ashley Perlman, and Sward played much better as a unit Thursday, connecting on passes and putting the defense in danger. They’ll need to do more of the same Saturday if they are to knock off the Tritons, who have outscored their opponents 38-14 while compiling a 14-5-1 record this season.
Webster scored both goals in a span of 1:41 in Chico State’s victory against the Tritons earlier this season in Chico. Sward and Molly McFadden assisted on the first, and Kearney got the helper on the second.
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