ON TO THE LAND OF LINCOLN
For the fifth time in the past six seasons, the Puget Sound Loggers have advanced to the Sectionals of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship and will travel to Wheaton, Ill. this weekend to join Wartburg, UW Stevens Point and Wheaton for the chance to advance to the national semifinals in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. next week.
The Loggers vs. Cal Lutheran
2007 Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year Janece Levien (Beaverton, Ore.) scored her 22nd goal of the season to break a scoreless tie against the Cal Lutheran Regals and the Puget Sound Loggers added two more in the second half as Puget Sound defeated Cal Lutheran, 3-0, in the First Round of the 2007 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship at East Athletic Field in Tacoma, Wash.
Levien opened up the scoring in the 34th minute, wrangling the ball from a scrum in the middle of the box and powering in a shot to give the Loggers (19-1-1) a 1-0 lead over the Regals (8-11-4). The goal by Levien tied her for the school record for goals in a season, done twice by 2005 NSCAA Division III Player of the Year Cortney Kjar.
In the second half, senior Adrienne Folsom (Lakewood, Wash./Charles Wright) took a cross from junior Fiona Gornick (Portland, Ore./Grant) and then used her right foot to swing the ball into the net for a 2-0 Logger lead. Senior midfielder Jenny Conti (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial) made it 3-0 Loggers with a goal in the 55th minutes as the Loggers advanced in the tournament with the 3-0 win.
Logger keeper Kallie Wolfer (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) only had to make one save to collect the first playoff shutout of her career. Kristin Borzi of Cal Lutheran allowed three goals and made five saves in 67:50 before being replaced by Brittany Tippett.
The Loggers vs. Whitworth
Coaches will say that the toughest thing to do in sports is beat an opponent three times in one season but that is just what the fourth-ranked Puget Sound Loggers did, defeating the 11th-ranked Whitworth Pirates, 2-1, in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon on East Athletic Field in Tacoma, Wash.
Whitworth (18-3) got on the board right away when Penelope Crowe took a pass from Jael Hagerott in just the fourth minute and fired in a shot from about 25 yards away into the upper corner of the goal for a 1-0 Pirate advantage. The Loggers (20-1-1) evened things up in the 13th minute when Janece Levien (Beaverton, Ore.) place a beautiful cross in front of the net and senior Katie Gillette (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) put a head on the ball to direct it into the goal.
The Loggers earned the game-winner in the 29th minute when Adrienne Folsom (Lakewood, Wash./Charles Wright Academy) redirected a bullet from Levien for the eventual 2-1 Logger victory. The two squads combined for 18 more shots in the second half but the two defenses stole the show in the hard-fought match.
Logger keeper Kallie Wolfer (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) made just two saves on the day to collect the shutout while Whitworth keeper Krista Dietz was much busier, making nine saves but allowing the two Logger goals.
Statistically Speaking
The Loggers as a team led the NWC in a number of categories this season, including shots (518), goals (57), goals allowed (12), goals against average (0.59), shutouts (13), corners (118), and attendance (238 avg/g). Individually, Janece Levien led the NWC in shots (132), points (45) and goals (21). Sophomore keeper Kallie Wolfer is tops in goals against average (0.50).
On the national stage, the Loggers are 22nd in shutout percentage (0.65) and 28th in goals against average (0.59). Janece Levien is 19th nationally in goals per game (1.105) and 29th in points per game (2.25). Kallie Wolfer is 20th in nation in goals-against average (.496).
Breaking Records
The 2007 Loggers will go down as history as one of the best teams in schools history. The team has set a new school record for longest winning streak at 18 games and will go down as no worse than the second-best team in school history according to win percentage.
Scouting Wartburg
The Loggers will face off against the Wartburg Knights on Friday evening in the sectional semifinal, beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. CST. The Knights from Waverly, Iowa sport a record of 18-3-1 overall and earned a spot at the sectional with wins over UW Eau Claire and Carthage. Rachel Oswald leads the Wartburg offense with 14 goals and six assists on the season for 34 points. Rachel Coleman has seen the majority of time in net, allowing 11 goals in just over 1300 minutes for a 0.76 GAA.
Scouting Wisconsin-Stevens Point
The Pointers come to Illinois with a record of 16-4-2 on the year. They advanced to Wheaton with a 3-2 win over St. Benedict and then advanced past the University of Chicago in a shootout. The UWSP offense is led by Amanda Prawat, who has tallied 26 goals and eight assists on the year. Kaylee Weisee has been just as dangerous, scoring 16 goals and assisting on 12 others. Meredith DeCaluwe has been in net almost the entire season, allowing 22 goals in 1905:02 for a 1.04 GAA.
Scouting Wheaton
Winners of two of the last three national titles, including a penalty-kick shootout over Puget Sound in 2004, the Thunder bring a 23-0-0 record into the weekend, including a 41-match win streak. Taryne Lee leads the offense for the nation's top-ranked team, having scored 26 goals this season. Sarah Richardson has scored 18 goals of her own and assisted on 19 others. The Thunder have outscored their opponents 95-13 this season. In goal, Kristin Eggert has seen the majority of action, allowing 10 goals in 1655:49 for a 0.54 GAA.
The Coach
Leading the Loggers in 2007 is six-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year Randy Hanson, who has put together a record of 171-50-22 through the weekend in 11 seasons with the Loggers.
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