University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Claim First-Ever BIG EAST Championship Title
11/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
STORRS, CT (Nov. 10) – Salla Ranta (Helsinki, Finland) scored on a penalty kick to claim the University of Connecticut women’s soccer team’s first ever BIG EAST Championship crown on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies improve to 18-2-1 overall as the Mountaineers of West Virginia fall to 17-2-1.
Both teams produced scoring chances in the first half. UConn’s Brittany Barakat (Arlington, TX) received a pass from Ranta in the box and took a bicycle kick, sending the ball towards West Virginia keeper Laura Finley as she fell to the ground. Finley made the save for the Mountaineers. Later in the half, WVU had a scoring chance when UConn committed a foul just outside the box. Chrissie Abbott, BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, faced off against Maria Yatrakis, the BIG EAST Goaltender of the Year for a free kick. Abbott fired a shot over the head of Yatrakis, but hit the crossbar. The teams went into halftime scoreless.
About midway through the second half, Barakat was dribbling towards the net when she was fouled in the box, producing a penalty kick situation. Ranta stepped up and placed the ball in the lower left corner of the net for the solo goal of the contest. It was her third game-winner of the season and second on the penalty kick. Against Virginia Tech, she also notched the game-winner on a penalty kick to keep the Huskies perfect in league play at 6-0-0.
Yatrakis stopped four in the win and recorded her sixth shutout and Finley denied eight for the Mountaineers.
Connecticut receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which begins on Friday, November 15 on campus sites. The Semifinals and Finals will be hosted by the University of Texas in Austin, TX on December 6th and 8th. The 64-team tournament bracket will be available on www.ncaasports.com on Monday, November 11 at 4:45 p.m.
