By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – It’s on to Alabama for the William Carey University women.
The top-ranked Lady Crusaders successfully negotiated the Hattiesburg Bracket of the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Tournament, advancing to the NAIA Championships Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 victory over Reinhardt (Ga.) University at Crusader Field.
Saturday’s win came after a thrilling 1-0 triumph over Louisiana Christian in the opening round of the tournament Thursday night. Top-seeded Carey (20-0) will play in the National Tournament quarterfinal round Dec. 3 at Orange Beach, Ala.
“Louisiana Christian had a really great defensive game plan and tried to take away some of the things we like to do,” said Carey coach Danny Owens.
“They played it well. I told the girls to just keep playing well, and that one goal would be enough to win it. The ultimate goal is to get to Orange Beach, and I thought the girls were focused from the start.”
This is the ninth straight season that Carey has made it to the National Tournament. The Lady Crusaders have reached the national semifinals the past four seasons, with two appearances in the finals, winning the national title in 2018.
Senior defender Veronica Herrera scored the go-ahead goal in the 25th minute of play in the first half, and the Lady Crusaders added two more scores in the second half to defeat the Eagles and punch their ticket for Orange Beach.
“It’s something I’m really proud of, something I’ve worked really hard on, my strength in a crowd,” said Herrera. “I took advantage of the space and got the goal for my team.”
On Thursday, senior midfielder Anni Rusanen scored with 27 seconds remaining in regulation to push WCU past Louisiana Christian.
“I think that was only her second shot al year,” said Owens. “But that’s not what we ask her to do. She does so many other things for us that don’t show up in the stat sheet. She does all the dirty work in the middle.
“She’s tracking people down, making tackles, winning headers. We call her the unsung hero of our team. She can run for 90 minutes and shuts the other team’s best players down.”
Rusanen and Herrera keyed a dominating defensive performance that shut down Reinhardt (18-3), which came into Saturday’s game averaging 3.7 goals per game.
In particular, the Lady Crusaders shut down Reinhardt standout Ryelyn Wells, who only got one shot, which was not on target, after coming into the game with 18 goals this season.
“I think our key is the communication with our keeper and the back line,” said Herrera. “It works for us, to be aware of each other and where the players from the other team are. It’s all about communication.”
Herrera’s goal came in the middle of a dominant first half that saw the Lady Crusaders outshoot Reinhardt 16-1. She took a high pass from sophomore Maria Corral Pinon in the middle of a crowd of players and headed the ball past Eagle goalkeeper Caroline Johnson.
That was all the scoring Carey would need, as the Lady Crusaders owned the midfield thanks to the play of Rusanen, who played all 90 minutes Saturday.
“I think a big part of it is being fit,” said Rusanen. “You have to run the whole game. I’m very tired.”
It was the 12th shutout of the season for keeper Jaina Eckert, who only had to make two saves on five shots.
Carey got some breathing space in the 54th minute after Mariangela Jimenez was fouled inside the 18-yard box. Senior Ana Paula Santos easily converted the penalty kick, making her 4-for-4 on PKs this season.
“I think it’s just a little confidence, a little focus, and, honestly, just shoving the ball into the goal,” said Santos, who scored her 22nd goal of the season.
I still get a little bit nervous when I’m standing over the ball, but I just focus on getting a good touch.”
Santos dictated play in the front half, getting eight shots for the game, and directing the ball with precision passing to her teammate for scoring chances.
“I think this team makes it easy for us in the middle and in front to play forward,” said Santos. “Our left backs and our defense make us real comfortable with the ball. We know we are going to run for each other.
“So, when you have the ball, you really don’t think about it. You go forward and find your teammates to get shots.”
Carey salted the game away with under five minutes to play when senior Gabby Vincent scored from pass near the end line from junior Kauany Sousa. It was just the third goal of the season for Vincent.
For Vincent and Santos, both seniors who got an extra season of eligibility due to Covid-19, it was the end of a remarkable record in home games. Beginning with their first season in the program, 2017, the pair were 46-2 at home over their careers.
“I think when you get to Carey, to this program, it’s what’s expected of you,” said Santos.
“I feel like we’re happy. It’s not easy and there is a lot yet to be done. There are still three more games to be played for us to reach the goal that we want. We’ll be happy for a few seconds, but then it’s done and it’s time to focus on finishing the job.”
Carey now gets 11 days until it plays again, with a break for Thanksgiving coming up next week.
“We’ll take a couple of days to recover from these two,” Owens said. “We’ll give them Thanksgiving off, let them go see their families, and then we’ll get back after Thanksgiving and start getting to work.”
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
