Photo Credit: Sideline Sports http://www.bigsouthphotos.com

No. 8 Winthrop 0, No. 1 Liberty 0 (2OT, Winthrop advances in penalty kicks, 5-4)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the second-straight game, it took penalty kicks to decide who would advance to the semifinals of the 2009 Big South Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting Thursday at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.  After a 0-0 tie in 110 minutes of play, it took a total of nine rounds of penalty kicks for No. 8 Winthrop to upset the No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Liberty Flames, 5-4, in penalty kicks.  The Lady Eagles will play No. 5 seed VMI Friday afternoon at 4:30pm in the semifinals, marking their first appearance in the semifinals since the 2007 tournament, also held at Blackbaud Stadium.

In the 27th minute of the first half, Winthrop’s Lia Gordon got loose in the box.  She put the ball over the outstretched arms of keeper Ashley Nyholt but hit the cross bar and bounced straight down and was eventually cleared out by the Flames defense.  Gordon’s attempt was the best opportunity for either team in the first half of play, with Liberty putting four shots on goal and Winthrop forcing a pair of saves with two shots on goal.

Nyholt had a save to start the shoot out, but Sarah Schippers answered with a save of her own in the first round.  After Courtney Durbin and Silvia Betancourt made their attempts in round two, Schippers gave the Lady Eagles the advantage with a save in round three following a Stevie Lucas make to put Winthrop up 2-1.  Neither team was able to close the door until the ninth round as Kylie Long buried her attempt in the back of the net.  Jordan Woody’s attempt to tie and keep the top-seed’s hopes alive ended up in the hands of Schippers, her fifth save of the shoot out.

Winthrop held a 19-15 advantage in shots over Liberty, including 5-4 edge in shots on goal.  Allie Vandewater led the Lady Eagle attack with five shots, including two on goal, while Kyrie Weant had three shots but was unable to put any on frame.  Liberty’s Madison Short had six shots with one on goal, while Aimee Luurtsema put two of her three shots on goal.

Kelsy Weavil played all 110 minutes in goal for Winthrop, earning four saves in her sixth shut out of the year to earn a 5-10-4 record this season.  Schippers saw her first action in goal for the Lady Eagles since September 6, coming in for the shoot out.  Ashley Nyholt had her third shut out of the season and now holds a 2-1-2 record after making five saves.

Winthrop improves to 5-10-5 (2-5-2 Big South) on the year, while Liberty ends its season at 9-7-4 (6-1-2 Big South).  The Lady Eagles will be making their third appearance in the Big South Tournament semifinals.  Winthrop, which lost to VMI in the regular season, will face VMI in the Conference tournament for the second year in a row after VMI took a 2-1 victory over the Lady Eagles last year in the opening round of the 2008 Big South Championship. 

QUOTES

Liberty Head Coach Jessica Hain
“Both teams showed great character and heart throughout a hard fought game.  It was our desire to advance and represent the Big South in the NCAA Tournament, but Liberty congratulates Winthrop, and we are supporting and praying for God’s blessing over each team in the tournament.”

Winthrop Head Coach Melissa Heinz
“I’m ecstatic. I’m somewhat emotional for the fact the team just played with every ounce of their heart, mind and bodies. That’s what we had to have today. Liberty is a phenomenal team. We had to come out and give our best. It had to be our best the whole time. I’m excited about tomorrow. If we bring this energy and work ethic, we’ll find ourselves playing on Sunday.”