UC Irvine Wins in PKs; Will Play Winner of Alabama-Portland
Brown was the aggressor in the first half, outshooting UC Irvine 12-3. The Anteaters defense held strong, however, and Glo Hinojosa finished with three saves to complement the the blocks and deflections the defense got.
The breakthrough cam when Brown pushed almost everyone forward for an attack, but UC Irvine countered, leaving one Brown defender to battle Alyssa Moore, who took advantage and scored the only goal of the first half.
The Anteater defense continued to hold strong in the second half, and it gradually looked like UC Irvine would last to the end, but that changed when the referee called a foul in the box, setting up Brittany Raphino for a penalty kick.
She converted, tying the game at 1. Neither team could break the tie in regulation, so here comes overtime.
Both team were relatively quiet (only two shots between them) so a second overtime was played. That's where it started picking up as both teams got good looks, but it wasn't enough. The score remained 1-1 with one option left to go: penalty kicks.
Hinojosa took it to another level, saving the first two shots from Brown, while UC Irvine scored its first two. Brown finally got on the board with its third shot, followed by UC Irvine's make. 3-1 Anteaters.
Brown did score on its fourth attempt, but with one more goal to seal the victory, Emile Castagna steps up to the ball and takes the shot.
Goal.
Irvine will now wait and see who it will play in Sunday's third round match. Will it be Portland? Or will it be Alabama, the No. 1 seed in this portion of the bracket?
"We don't care who we play," UC Irvine coach Scott Juniper said about potentially playing the Crimson Tide.
