St. Rose women's soccer takes first title

By MATT RYBALTOWSKI, Special to the Times Union


When the Saint Rose athletic department first scheduled a scrimmage against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome in Men's Basketball, most of the program's fans believed it would be the biggest event of the weekend.

But while the Golden Knights played the Orange in a surprisingly tight game Sunday afternoon, losing 80-71, another Saint Rose team made headlines. The women's soccer team, unbeaten in the regular season, became Northeast-10 Conference Tournament champions.

Fixed in a defensive struggle against Bryant, the Golden Knights (18-0-2) scored with roughly three minutes left to beat the Bulldogs 2-1 at Albany Academy for Girls.

With the win, the nation's third-ranked team in Division II earned the school its first NE-10 title in women's soccer and secured a top regional seed in next week's NCAA Tournament.

"This is definitely the best team I've played for in my four years," senior Ashley McGuire said.

The eighth-ranked Bulldogs' attack featured an unorthodox formation that included three forwards, a diamond setup through the middle and a flat-back four in their defensive end. Though the teams tied in their only previous matchup -- 2-2 at Bryant on Oct. 3 -- Saint Rose coach Laurie Darling Gutheil felt her team wasn't as prepared then as it could have been.

"The first time we played them we didn't have our organization and shifting precisely down. Even though it was a tough, hard-fought game, we weren't finding the weak side," Gutheil said. "We really spent a lot of time on Thursday night, going through film and organizing ourselves, looking at our defensive shape and opportunities to attack."

The Golden Knights followed the plan, controlling the pace of play and hitting the post and crossbar twice in the second half, before finally breaking through. Senior Sami Brown, who scored the team's first goal in the opening half, sent a corner kick into the middle of the box as overtime neared.

The cross found the foot of freshman midfielder Amanda Deck, who volleyed it to senior co-captain Lindsay Bove. Standing alone on the near post, Bove took it out of the air and sent it into the left corner of the goal.

"I couldn't believe it just happened," Bove said. "I was just thinking in my head, 'Be there it'll come to me, just put it in the goal, easy touch in.' "

victory meant that Saint Rose eclipsed its previous record in wins and it was done so in flashy fashion: Goalie Lauren Steinberg helped the team to a single-season record in shutouts with 16 and the Knights are unbeaten at home with a 12-0 record.

said the win also means her team will host the NCAA regionals for the first time next weekend. Pairings will be announced at 5 p.m. today.

"This means we get to play at home," she said.

As in home, unbeaten home.