NCAA Final Four

[Kuiper]

I'm surprised there are no threads here on the Final Four this weekend, so I decided to start one on the off-hand chance someone is reading this board for any info on the teams involved.  The LA Times ran a full-length story on Cal Lutheran's women's soccer team and its run to the first final four in its history yesterday (I'm guessing no other major national newspaper has a story on the DIII soccer final four for either the men or the women).  Cal Lutheran plays Tufts Thursday while Wash U. plays Messiah.  Here's a link with some quotes.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2023-11-28/cal-lutheran-womens-soccer-ncaa-tournament-rise

CLU, unranked in the latest United Soccer Coaches national top 25, faces Tufts (11-5-4) in the national semifinals in Salem, Va. And if the Regals get past that, they'll face the winner of the other semifinal between second-ranked Washington University (17-1-3) and Messiah (21-2-0), a six-time Division III champion, in Saturday's title game.

It wasn't a fluke. At 18-1-5, this year's team is the best in school history. The Regals outscored opponents 43-12 and posted 14 shutouts. The only loss was a 1-0 result against Pomona-Pitzer in the SCIAC tournament final, one they reversed in the second round of the NCAAs before upsetting unbeaten and top-ranked Christopher Newport University on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

[Kuiper]

Cal Lutheran 1 - Tufts 1 in OT right now

Cal Lu scored early in the 18th minute and then held on until Tufts equalized in the 81st minute after a barrage of pressure.  Big issue for Cal Lu was losing their DI transfer defender Savanna Durr (from CSUN) to injury with about 15 minutes left in the game.  Tufts is much quicker and plays better combination balls than Cal Lu, but Cal Lu is gritty and holding on.

UPDATE

Cal Lu beats Tufts in PKs to advance to the Finals!

Wow.  This was a game where Cal Lu looked like they were hanging on for dear life, with three top starters injured during regulation and the players looking tired.  Cal Lu's GK was Uber aggressive to keep them in the game, coming out on all corners and crosses to snuff out plays, but they had almost no offensive chances in the second half and first OT.  Somehow, however, the coach brought in a few different players, motivated them, and they controlled the second OT, owning possession and almost winning with a ball hitting the underside of the cross bar on a great shot.  It was as if they had played possum, lulling Tufts into beautiful passing sequences and runs while they conserved energy for the second OT. 

[Kuiper]

Wash U 1 - Messiah 1 and just finished 1OT.  Wash U looked a little stronger in the first OT.  We'll see if they can convert any of those chances in the 2OT.

UPDATE:  Wash U wins in PKs

Both GKs were very good all game (Messiah's GK made a save at the end of 2OT that was really strong and sent the game to PKs), but Wash U's keeper saved two and Messiah's only saved one.

Final will be Wash U. v. Cal Lutheran

Wash U will be heavily favored I expect, but we'll see if Cal Lu can muck things up enough the way they did against Tufts to keep it close and hope to nick a goal or take it to PKs.

[Kuiper]

In the finals, for Cal Lutheran to have much of a chance in this game, they need defenders Avery West and Savanna Durr to be available to help slow down Wash U's attack and to start CLU's attack as well (and finish it, as West scored the only goal in regulation for the Regals).  The Cal Lu defense did an admirable job of mucking things up against Tufts, but the team had hardly any possession until the second OT and it appeared that the replacement defenders were under instruction to just boot the ball unless the deck was completely clear.  CLU GK Kelsey Slaugh was a backup not that long ago as well, only playing 5 games this season until she played 17 minutes of the SCIAC championship game in relief of starter Logan Durford and then has played the entire NCAA tournament run.  While she was fantastic in being aggressive, she got luck a few times that her punches of the ball weren't hit right back in the net before she was able to get in position and set for them.

[Kuiper]

Cal Lutheran 1 - Washington University 0

Cal Lu's Bella Veljacic scores on a fantastic looping shot that beats the GK over the top to the far right corner, hits the corner and then off the GK's back into the goal.  Cal Lu is doing it without Avery West, although Savanna Durr is back.

UPDATE:

HALF:  Cal Lutheran 1 - Washington University 0

Spoke too soon on Durr, who had to come out because she wasn't able to go after a few minutes.  They moved back a MF to CB and she's been holding down the fort.  Wash U has definitely had the better of the chances, but that seemed to be by design as Cal Lu took out Veljacic to give her a rest and packed it in more after their goal.

UPDATE:

FINAL:  Cal Lutheran 1 - Wash U 0

Cal Lu battles injuries and some blue blood schools to win their first national championship!

Here's a link to video of Cal Lu's winning goal a little over halfway through the first half.  You won't find a more beautifully placed goal (and hard luck for the Wash U GK on the rebound)

https://x.com/NCAADIII/status/1731001875212722199?s=20

[socalcoach]

Incredible result from Cal Lutheran down 3 all conference players. Amazing they survived the semis then outshot Wash u 9-6 and won the game down 3 all conference players. Pretty amazing honestly.

[Kuiper]

NCAA Women's Championship game 2024

Wash U 3 - William Smith 0

William Smith did an admirable job holding Wash U off the scoreboard, but it always seemed a matter of time.  Wash U was just too strong, too technical, and too athletic for William Smith.  Once the dam broke, Wash U piled it on for a scoreline that makes it seem like total domination, even though really the 2nd and 3rd goals were scored a little over a minute apart with about 15 minutes to go.  Still, Wash U. could have done even more damage with a few crossbars and posts (and non-calls on a trip in the box) helping out William Smith.  William Smith almost got one back with a free kick that snuck past the wall and was kept out by a full stretch dive from the Wash U GK, but by that point it would have only been a consolation goal.  A VAR check in the final minute changed a yellow to a straight red gave William Smith an advantage for the last 90 seconds, but they weren't able to capitalize.