Sacramento State Draws Stanford in the 2010 College Cup
T. William Gooch
PDF of the notes
OGDEN, Utah (November 9, 2010) - Sacramento State captured the Big Sky Conference soccer title by defeating Northern Arizona 1-0 Sunday afternoon in Flagstaff, Ariz. The Hornets will represent the Big Sky in the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 2007.
Sacramento State got on the board on an Elece McBride goal in the 51st minute. Kelsey O’Donnell assisted on the goal, McBride now has six goals on the season. It was the first goal given up by the Lumberjacks since Oct. 24th against Eastern Washington.
With two of the conference’s best defenses on the pitch, the first half was a predicable 0-0 tie. Both teams tallied five shots. The Lumberjacks put two on goal, while the Hornets only had one.
Sacramento State’s Savannah Abercrombie now is the league career all-time leader with 23 shutouts, she entered the season with 16. On the other side NAU’s Tori Rocke finished the season with 20 shutouts, good enough for third on the list.
This is Sacramento State’s second Big Sky soccer title. The Hornets defeated Northern Colorado 3-0 in 2007 for the program’s first championship, also marking the last time a tournament host has won the Big Sky championship. Sacramento State will travel to Palo Alto, Calif. to take on No. 1 Stanford, the NCAA selection committee announced on Monday night.
In 2007 the Hornets also faced Stanford in the first round, losing to the Cardinal 7-0. Stanford made it through the 2010 regular season unbeaten and drew two ties against Boston College and North Carolina.
This will be the third time the Big Sky Conference Champion has faced Stanford in the first round of the NCAA College Cup.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for youths and seniors. One ticket is good for both Friday matches. The first 50 Stanford students each day will be admitted free.
Tickets go on sale beginning Monday at 3 p.m. They can be purchased on-line at gostanford.com, by phone at 1-800-STANFORD and (650) 723-1021, or at the Stanford ticket office (hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.) at the south end of Stanford Stadium.
The addition of 700 bleacher seats has expanded the capacity of Cagan Stadium to 2,200 for the tournament.
2010 Big Sky Tournament Team
Elece McBride* – Sacramento State
Leah Larot - Sacramento State
Savannah Abercrombie - Sacramento State
Laura Bahno - Sacramento State
Cori Shreve - Sacramento State
Caitlin Pulver – Sacramento State
Jenna Samora – Northern Arizona
Kristi Andreassen - Northern Arizona
Tori Rocke - Northern Arizona
Sam Monahan - Northern Arizona
Kirstin Salminen - Northern Colorado
Eryn Brown – Portland State
* - MVP