BU falls to Viterbo in rubber-match at A.I.I. Championships
Sydney King’s 51st minute goal was the difference as Viterbo defeated Bellevue 1-0 in the A.I.I. semifinal match on Friday.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Sydney King scored the game's lone goal in the 51st minute as Viterbo University defeated the Bellevue University women's soccer team 1-0 on Friday afternoon at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in the semifinal round of the Association of Independent Institutions Tournament.
Records:
Bellevue: 10-5-0
Viterbo: 10-8-0
Recap: Viterbo 1, Bellevue 0
Despite a flurry of early chances for Viterbo – they put up four shots and won three corner kicks in the opening 15 minutes – the V-Hawks were unable to capitalize. Included among their chances was a scrum on the BU goal line which saw Bruin keeper Sabrina Staufenbiel make of pair of saves at point blank range.
Momentum transferred and by the final 10 minutes of the first half it was Bellevue that had seized momentum and started piling up the chances. Morgan Sheard had two opportunities within a minute of each other which resulted in Viterbo keeper Abby Breitbach making a save on one shot and Sheard hitting the post with another.
The game proceeded to halftime scoreless with Viterbo holding a 7-5 advantage in shots (6-3 on goal) and a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
Viterbo put themselves on the board first, in the 51st minute, following a BU giveaway just outside their own 18-yard box. Sydney King pounced on the errant pass and sent a howler underneath the crossbar for her 11th goal of the season.
Bellevue saw their best chance to equalize come in the 72nd minute when Morgan Sheard took a shot off a dangerous cross that Breitbach made a point-blank save on.
Emily Weyant won the Bruins a free kick opportunity in the 82nd minute which Maria Tome Flores put on target but Breitbach punched it away.
Staufenbiel recorded six saves in goal for the Bruins while Breitbach stopped all five shots she was tasked with facing.
Viterbo was out-shot by Bellevue 10-9 in the match but out-shot the Bruins 7-5 on goal and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Up Next:
With the victory, Viterbo advances to tomorrow's championship match where they will meet Georgia Gwinnett College at 3 p.m. The Grizzlies defeated Washington Adventist University 6-0 earlier in the day in the other semifinal game.
The loss by Bellevue means the Bruins conclude their season with a 10-5-0 overall record, their 15th-straight season with at least 10 victories..
Notes:
- The game was the third in a span of just 20 days between the two schools. Viterbo and BU each won on their home field earlier this season.
- Bellevue falls to 6-3-0 in one-goal games on the season.