Soccer: Gophers edge Marquette, reach region title match

Two goals in the first 15 minutes were enough for a victory that pits the No. 22-ranked team against SDSU.

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: November 15, 2008 - 12:48 AM

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NCAA TOURNAMENT GOPHERS 2, MARQUETTE 1

Up next: 1 p.m. today vs. South Dakota State • Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium

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Midfielders Kelsey Hood and Julie Rezac had one goal between them this season for the Gophers.

But Friday, in Minnesota's first NCAA tournament game since 1999, those two each scored in the first 15 minutes as the Gophers edged Marquette 2-1 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.

In the opening game of this four-team regional in St. Paul, upstart South Dakota State beat No. 15 Colorado 1-0. That means the 22nd-ranked Gophers (21-3) will play South Dakota State at 1 p.m. Sunday for the region title.

Hood, the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year, scored her first goal of the season in the eighth minute. "It felt good. It's my birthday today, too," said Hood, a senior who turned 22. "I had a dance planned out, but I didn't do it.

"I think the ball went off my kneecap. I hit it toward the goal after one miss-hit. It went through [the goalkeeper's] hands. I'll take credit for it."

The play began with Lindsey Schwartz taking a direct kick from the right side. A scramble ensued in front of Marquette keeper Chelsey Turner, the junior who transferred from Minnesota after last season.

Rezac, a sophomore who had not scored since the season opener, made it 2-0 in the 15th minute. She scored on a header off a high ball from Clare Grimwood.

"At lunch, Clare Grimwood told me, 'I see you scoring,'" Rezac said. "I said, 'The only way I score is if I get a ball from you.'"

Which is exactly what happened.

The Golden Eagles (11-8-3) pulled Turner at halftime. Freshman Natalie Kulla replaced her and Marquette rallied.

Allison McBride's first goal of the season, in the 75 minute, cut the Gophers' lead to 2-1. Then, with only 12 seconds left, Brittany Bares had one last chance for Marquette, She shot from the top of the penalty box -- right into the hands of keeper Lindsey Dare, who caught the chest-high ball for her fifth save.

"On that last shot, I was like having a heart attack," Hood said. "They put a lot more pressure on us in the second half."

South Dakota State 1, Colorado 0: The Jackrabbits, competing in the NCAA tournament in their first year of eligibility for it, upset the St. Paul region's top seed on senior Kellyn Farrell's goal in the 14th minute. She stole the ball from a defender and scored on a 15-yard shot. It was her sixth goal of the season.

Colorado (14-5-4) had 22 shots, 10 on goal. One of the missed shots in the first half hit a post, another the crossbar. SDSU (15-4-1), which has seven Minnesotans on its roster, had 10 shots, three on net.

"This is certainly the biggest victory in the history of our program," said Jackrabbits coach Lang Wedemeyer, whose team is in the fifth season of its transition to Division I. "We were a little lucky. They hit a post and we had a couple other last-second saves."

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