Creighton University
Illinois State
Women's Soccer Wins MVC Title With 2-1 OT Win
10/28/2010 10:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. -- A pair of Omaha natives teamed up in overtime to help give the Creighton women's soccer team its first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title since 2002, a 2-1 overtime victory over Illinois State on Thursday. Andrea Zuniga's league-high eighth assist of the season fed sophomore teammate Brittney Neumann for her league-best ninth goal of the year to make Bluejays a winner and hand Bruce Erickson his 200th victory as a collegiate head coach.
Creighton (13-3-2, 5-1-0 MVC) trailed 1-0 with less than 15 minutes to play before Erin Gunther tied the game with 12:54 left on a penalty kick after Lauren Cingoranelli got pulled down inside the penalty box. It is the second time Gunther has been called upon for a penalty kick this season, connecting on both. Halfway through the first overtime, Neumann scored her third game-winning goal of the fall with a sliding shot to beat ISU keeper Mara Kremenovic just inside the right post.Illinois State had taken a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute when 2009 MVC Tournament MVP Jessica Carlson scored on a penalty kick after being tripped up in the box. It was Carlson's sixth goal of the fall. ISU had a chance to go ahead 2-0 but had balls bound off the crossbar and post in succession in the 65th minute. In the second minute of overtime, another ISU shot rebounded off the crossbar of the North goal, extending the match.
Both teams had chances to score in the opening frame, but neither was able to connect. The Jays had the first chance to score when Emily Orbell found herself open in front of the net in the 18th minute, but shot wide left. Creighton had six other shots in the half, with Orbell and Lauren Cingoranelli shooting two balls each.
The Redbirds then had their scoring opportunity when Jessica Carlson attacked from the front of the net, requiring a one handed save by Alicia Montgomery, and then a team defensive effort to clear the ball in the 28th minute. Illinois State took seven shots in the first half, with four on goal.
Montgomery recorded her sixth shutout of the year for the Jays with eight saves. She leads the MVC with a 0.69 goals against average.
Neumann finishes the regular-season leading the MVC with 59 shots, 23 points, and a 1.28 points per game average. She is tied for the league lead with nine goals, three game-winning goals and 0.50 goals per game. Neumann's statistical dominance, combined with her team's success, figure to also make the sophomore from Omaha a front-runner for MVC Player of the Year honors, which will be handed out on Thursday.
With the win, Creighton earns a first-round bye in the State Farm MVC Tournament, which begins at campus sites on Sunday. The Jays return to action on next Friday (Nov. 5) with 6 pm match against the victor of Sunday's Evansville at Drake match.
Illinois State fell to 8-7-1 (3-2-1 MVC) with the setback, and will be the No. 3 seed. The Redbirds will host sixth-seeded Indiana State on Sunday in Normal, Ill., to begin defense of their 2009 MVC Tournament title.
