Sunday, December 4, 2011
COLLEGE: NCAA's final four filled
By Scott French
Creighton and Charlotte joined UCLA and North Carolina in next week's NCAA Men's College Cup with tight victories Sunday.
Ethan Finlay's team-best 14th goal seven minutes into overtime lifted second-ranked Creighton (21-2-0) to a 1-0 victory over No. 12 South Florida (13-4-4) in a game postponed a day following heavy snowfall Saturday in Omaha.
Unseeded Charlotte (16-4-3), ranked 14th in the coaches' poll, overcame No. 5 Connecticut (19-3-3) on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Storrs, Conn.
Tony Cascio volleyed the third-seeded Huskies ahead in the 82nd minute, but Giuseppe Gentile's strike following a free kick three minutes later saved Charlotte, which outfired UConn, 4-2, after 20 minutes of scoreless overtime.
Creighton and Charlotte will meet in Friday's semifinal opener in Hoover, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham. No. 4 UCLA (18-4-1), a 1-0 winner in overtime Saturday night at Louisville, will face top-seeded, third-ranked North Carolina (20-2-2) in the later semi, slated for a 5:30 p.m. PST start.
In women's action:
- Teresa Noyola's goal eight minutes into the second half lifted No. 1 Stanford (25-0-1) to a 1-0 victory over Duke (22-4-1) in the NCAA Division I women's final in Kennesaw, Ga. The Cardinal's senior class -- including defender Camille Levin (Newport Coast/Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School) -- finished with a 95-4-4 record, with the final three losses coming in the 2008 NCAA semifinals and the 2009 and 2010 title games. Stanford is the eighth school to win an NCAA women's title, joining North Carolina (20 times), Notre Dame (three), Portland (two), Florida, Santa Clara, USC and George Mason.
NCAA TOURNAMENTS
Division I
Quarterfinals (Sunday)
Charlotte 1 (Gentile 85), Connecticut 1 (Cascio 82), OT (Charlotte advances on penalties, 4-2)
Creighton 1 (Finlay 97), South Florida 0, OT
Semifinals (Friday at Hoover, Ala.)
North Carolina (20-2-2) vs. UCLA (18-4-1)
Charlotte (16-4-3) vs. Creighton (21-2-0)
Division III
Final (Sunday at San Antonio)
Ohio Wesleyan 2, Calvin, Mich. 1
Division I
Final (Sunday at Kennesaw, Ga.)
Stanford 1, Duke 0
Division III
Final (Sunday at San Antonio)
Messiah, Pa. 3, Wheaton, Ill. 1
