WVU Wins Shootout
October 29, 2006 07:02 PM | General
October 29, 2006
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Krystle Kallman scored the game-winning goal on the Mountaineers’ fifth and final penalty kick to allow No. 8-rated West Virginia to advance past No. 25 Louisville, 5-4, in Big East tournament quarterfinal action Sunday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.
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| West Virginia goal keeper Lana Bannerman makes a save on a penalty kick shootout Sunday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
All-Pro Photography/Allison Toffle |
The Mountaineers were unable to net a goal during regulation and two overtime periods despite out-shooting the Cardinals 25-8, winning the corner kick battle 8-0, and controlling the match.
Veteran coach Nikki Izzo-Brown refused to let her team quit.
“We have been in games like this before and I told them to just keep knocking and it would happen for us,” Izzo-Brown said. “Into the wind we dominated, with the wind we dominated: it didn’t matter these kids just kept fighting.”
Both teams exchanged the first three penalty kicks with Louisville getting conversions from Jamie Craft, Monique Gjini and Amy Seng; WVU had successful kicks from Deana Everrett, Ashley Banks and Kim Bonilla.
However, on Louisville’s fourth attempt, Heather Engel’s low shot toward the right of the goal was kicked away by a diving Lana Bannerman. The senior described her approach to the crucial save.
“The more you think about it the harder it is to make a save. You just relax, get focused, and go,” Bannerman said.
Despite only needing to make three saves in 110 minutes of action, the Naperville, Ill., native was ready to step up when opportunity knocked.
“You have to come up big when you’re needed and that is what I am here for,” Bannerman said.
Izzo-Brown says the onus is squarely on the shooter and not the goalkeeper in a penalty kick situation.
“All the pressure is on the shooter,” said the coach. “The goalkeeper shouldn’t be making saves if the shooter hits it in the right spot. The bottom line is Lana came up big with that save,” Brown. It was absolutely huge.”
Following the vital save, Mountaineer freshman defender Carolyn Blank converted West Virginia’s fourth straight kick to give the Gold and Blue a 4-3 advantage with one kick remaining.
Louisville’s Shannon Smythe kept the Cardinals alive, netting the fifth attempt to square the shootout at 4-4 and setting the stage for Kallman’s late game heroics.
Kallman beat Louisville goalkeeper Joanna Haig, calmly placing the ball in the top right corner of the net to send the Mountaineers’ to the Big East semifinals.
Kallman believes her success with penalty kicks is based on doing the same thing with each attempt.
“You try to go with a routine,” Kallman said. “I take a certain amount of steps back and to the left. I look over to the left and then I take it to the right. It is the same thing every time and that goes for most players.”
Kallman says she relishes the chance of being in the spotlight making a big play with the game on the line.
“I like shooting last. I love the pressure of it. I’ve been in a lot of big games since I was young. I have always been on really talented teams,” she said. “I am fortunate enough to have been in these situations before. I really like having it on my shoulders.”
While some coaches might rely on a senior or a more experienced player to take a final penalty kick, Izzo-Brown says she never doubted that Kallman could get the job done.
“If you have ever watched Krystle Kallman play we call her the bone crusher. She is the most confident hard-nosed kid that wants to do whatever she can to win games,” Izzo-Brown said. “She has been hitting them in training and I knew she had the confidence to step it up and get it done.
“We have experienced so much this year and I think we needed experience winning in penalty kicks because that is what is going to happen at tournament time,” Izzo-Brown said. “Now we have some confidence that we can win with penalty kicks.”
Because the game went to a shootout, both teams are officially credited with a draw. WVU’s record moves to 14-2-3 and Louisville’s is now 13-4-2.
West Virginia will face Rutgers on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m., in Storrs, Conn. The Scarlet Knights advanced past Connecticut in a shootout that ended, 6-5, on Saturday night.
Friday’s semifinal will be televised via tape delay on ESPNU at 11 p.m.
Fans can listen to the match live on the Internet by subscribing to CSTV’s All Access service.
