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USF Wins a Close One against St. Mary's
Oct. 10, 2004
(Moraga, Ca.) - In their first WCC match of the year, the USF Dons were able to defeat Saint Mary's for the first time since the 1997 season by the nail biting score of 1-0. San Francisco (7-3-3) in the midst of a four game winning streak, were able to hold onto the 1-0 victory and win their first conference game of the 2004 schedule.
The first half of play was evenly played as both teams had their chances to score the games first goal. The second half was just as close and exciting as the first, but with one exception: USF was able to capitalize on their scoring chances.
With just under 16 minutes remaining in the game, midfielder Hilary Fisher volleyed a ball that just sailed clear of the Gaels net and a goalmouth scramble ensued. In the scrum senior midfielder Annika Schmidt was able to gain control of the ball and make a perfect pass onto the foot of sophomore forward and team leading scorer Chelsea Hunt. From there Hunt was able to shoot the ball into the back right corner of the net for her sixth goal of the season.
For Hunt, it is her fourth game winning goal of the season and the sixth of her USF career. The six game winning goals places her third all-time in USF history for that category. "Chelsea is finally getting rewarded for all her hard work and effort. She is a relentless worker and it's great to see the results that she is enjoying," said Kalinoski.
Also deserving of special credit is senior goalkeeper Stephanie Beall who has not allowed a goal in three games. "Stephanie is playing great for us right now and I'm really proud of her," said the pleased USF soccer coach.
Beall has five shutouts this season, which means she is two shutouts away from tying the USF goalkeeper record for shutouts in a season. Former USF goalkeeper, Amy Voiland (1994) currently holds the record with seven.
What makes today's shutout even more remarkable is that senior defender Laura Ott was unable to play today and freshman Katie Hoban had to be taken out early in the first half as a result of an injury. "This was a big team victory for us, especially considering two of our best defenders were unable to play. We persevered and left it all on the field, which is how it should always be" Said Kalinoski.
The Dons will continue the WCC portion of their schedule this upcoming Friday as they will play host to the San Diego at 7:00 pm from Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco.
