box score

Nov. 12, 2004 - The Truman women’s soccer team is having its best season in school history thanks to one of the top defenses in the country. In the first-round of the NCAA Tournament though, it was the team’s offense which led it to a 3-1 victory over South Dakota at the Truman Soccer Park on Friday afternoon.

 

Truman, ranked third in the country and first in the NCAA Central Regional, set the tone early on. Less than a minute into the game, Sara Murray found herself on a breakaway after receiving a pass from Anna Sonderman and she finished to give the Bulldogs the lead.

 

The Bulldogs had several other scoring chances early on, but did not put their shots on goal. South Dakota took advantage and tied the game in the 23rd minute. Off a corner kick, Ashley Ervin deflected the ball to Tina Bonacci and Bonacci scored the first Coyote goal.

 

The game remained tied until the 30th minute when a South Dakota foul gave Truman a free kick about 25 yards out. Stephanie Cepicky took the kick and placed a perfect ball over the goalkeeper’s head for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.

 

The Bulldogs connected once more in the first-half. The team played a quick corner kick and caught the Coyotes off guard. Sonderman scored the goal with assists from Murray and Lauren Hawks.

 

In the final half, both teams found themselves in a defensive battle with just six shots combined in the period. South Dakota had the best scoring chance when a shot late in the game hit the post, but that was the closest either team came to scoring.

 

For the game, Truman outshot South Dakota by a 16-7 score, including a 7-3 margin on shots on goals. The Bulldogs’ keeper Lauren Davis made two saves in the game while the Coyotes’ goalie made four saves.

 

Truman improves to 19-0-2 on the season and will host the NCAA regional final on Sunday at 12 p.m. South Dakota ends the year with a 15-6-0 mark.