No. 1 Crusaders deny upset bid, eliminate SOU with big 2nd half
SOU Sports Information
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Oregon's defense finally cracked on Saturday, though it took the No. 1 team in the NAIA to do it.
Defending national champion William Carey (Miss.) reserved its spot in the NAIA Championships Round of 16 with a 4-1 Opening Round win over the Raiders at Crusader Field, breaking the game open with three second-half goals.
A day after earning their first national playoff win against Campbellsville (Ky.) and setting a team record with their eighth consecutive shutout, Maddie Casey had the Raiders (12-6-3) thinking upset by placing her free kick under the crossbar for a goal just 73 seconds into the matchup.
It wasn't until the 41st minute that the Crusaders (19-1-0) broke through with the first goal for a Raider opponent in 818 minutes. Ana Paula Santos, the reigning NAIA Tournament MVP, struck it through from straight on thanks to Camila Prescatore's assist.
Rebecca Delgado put the Crusaders in front five minutes into the second half by following Santos' shot off a corner kick. They struck twice more in the next 16 minutes, getting goals from Valeria Miranda and Delgado. Silvia Leonessi and Veronica Herrera were credited with assists.
The top seed hasn't been eliminated in the Opening Round since the format was adopted in 2008.
WCU was convincing, compiling 23 shots to SOU's three and putting 16 on goal.
SOU's Jessie Selby made 12 saves.
After Casey's goal – her second of the season – the Raiders didn't put another shot on target.
The Raiders had outscored their previous eight opponents a combined 23-0. Their final win total matched the second-highest in team history, falling short only of SOU's 2016 Cascade Conference championship team that was denied an at-large bid to the national tournament.
The game was the last for six history-making seniors: Casey, Kailey Lemon, Misty Martinez, Jazmin Shaffer, Mia Volpati and Aislinn Waite.
William Carey advanced to play No. 16 Mobile (Ala.) on Dec. 2 in Orange City, Alabama.