December 6, 2005
SPORTSThunderbirds take 4th in the nation
After playing for nearly four months, dating back into the summer, there was still work to be done for the MCC women’s soccer team as mid-November rolled around.
A 14-2-1 regular season record and regional and district titles placed the squad exactly where they wanted to be at this time of year: the NJCAA Division I National Championships.
Held in Phoenix at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex, it was a short business trip for the women, who were the No. 3 seed of eight spots.
Their opening match came on the first night of the tournament against the No. 6 seed, Iowa Central Community College.
Both teams started the game slow by applying little offensive pressure, for neither wanted to make a drastic mistake in the opening minutes.
However, MCC slowly began to assert themselves by keeping possession of the ball and taking several quality shots on goal.
The game stayed scoreless until the second half when Michele Martinez of Mesa scored on a shot that was set up by a great pass from Ashley Hale. Sarah Nelson added another goal late, as Mesa dominated ICCC, 2-0. The win was also the 100th career victory for Coach Tim Barmettler.
Advancing to the second round, Mesa was faced a much stronger opponent in Monroe Community College, the defending champions. The school from New York advanced to the second round by out-dueling Schoolcraft College from Michigan in an overtime shootout.
And yet, they still had plenty of energy left over to come out against Mesa and make the initial threat by controlling the ball in Thunderbird territory in the beginning.
Mesa fought back moving the ball towards the Monroe goal and nearly scoring on a header from Rea-Ann Fuzy.
It became evident this was going to be an aggressive match when yellow cards were handed down to Mesa’s Brittany Wilds and Monroe’s Colleen Hilliker for their physical play.
Mesa was the first team on the scoreboard with a sweet give-and-go play between Amanda Nance and Martinez, with Nance putting the shot past the keeper with 15 minutes left in the first half.
The score remained to be 1-0, in favor of the Thunderbirds until late in the second half, when Hilliker returned for Monroe and scored a goal on a sharp angle that got past keeper, Monique Wells.
Regulation time ended in a 1-1 tie and sudden-death overtime was needed to decide the outcome.
The first 10-minute overtime period was played with neither team prevailing and it was looking the same way in the second, with the possibility of the game coming down to penalty kicks.
However, with just over eight minutes left, Kerrie Brown of Monroe knocked in a rolling rebound in front of Mesa’s goal to end the game.
She had caught both Wells and a Mesa defender by surprise, as they thought the ball was heading out of bounce.
While the 2-1 defeat didn’t knock the Thunderbirds out of the tournament, it did eliminate their chance at the national championship.
Assistant coach, Darren Toohey, said it was tough for the team to overcome the loss, because reaching the championship game had been their goal the entire season.
The best the team could now do was finish third with a win against Laramie County Community College.
Yet, it was obvious the team was still lingering on the heartbreaking loss to Monroe as they fell behind to Laramie, 2-0 in the first period.
Mesa made a comeback charge in the second half, with a goal scored by Stephanie Etgen. But there was little more the women could do as time and their season expired with a 2-1 loss.
Achieving a fourth place finish, the 2005 team had the best overall season in MCC women’s soccer history.