PALO ALTO, Calif. – Hannah Wong's brace earned Arizona (14-5-2) it's second all-time appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament as they defeated No. 12 Santa Clara for the second time this season (14-6-2) by a score of 2-1.
“I thought we played really well in the first half and Hannah Wong had two outstanding goals,” head coach Tony Amato said. “In the second half Santa Clara had much of the ball and we were defending with all our might. We knew it would look like in the second half up two goals and this team is very resilient and battles.”
Arizona had the first scoring chance of the night as Cece Bilginer received a nice pass in the center of the Santa Clara goal box. She took a few touches to get open and took the shot, but Broncos goalkeeper Andi Tostanoski was able to make a comfortable save.
In the 12th minute, Gabi Stoian made it onto the pitch for the first time since Oct. 24 when she picked up a knock against Oregon State that kept her out for four matches.
Four minutes later, Wong received a pass from Hayley Estopare from about 30 yards away. She took a touch and ripped a shot with her left foot that forced Tostanoski to leave her feet to make the save.
Lainey Burdett made her first save of the night in the 31st as Megan Crosson was able to create some space and get a good shot off on target.
The 32nd and 33rd minutes belonged to Wong though. In the 32nd, she and Stoian both stood over the ball from about 25 yards away for a free kick. Wong took the shot and it was too good for Tostanoski as it tipped off her glove and went into the top left hand corner of the goal, giving Arizona a 1-0 lead.
46 seconds later, Wong made a long run and nobody challenged her. She stopped from about 30 yards away and took another shot. The ball went into the exact same place as her first goal and just like that Arizona had a 2-0 lead.
This is just the second time this season that an Arizona player has scored two goals in one match. Stoian scored two in the season opener against Abilene Christian back on Aug. 21. Wong now has three goals this season.
Santa Clara had a free kick with 30 seconds left in the first half that required Burdett to come of her line. She collided with a Bronco attacker in the air but still came down with the ball and the two squads went to the locker rooms with Arizona leading 2-0.
Stoian took her first shot of the game in the 51st minute. It had some nice pace on it and was on target, but Tostanoski was able to get her hands on it to make the save.
In the 59th minute, Burdett was forced to make a diving save to keep Santa Clara scoreless, but she was not able to hang onto it. Haley Silverberg came in to save the day though as she cleared it.
In the 67th minute, Santa Clara executed an exquisite through ball. Burdett was forced to come off her line and she met with the Bronco attacker at the ball. Burdett won the battle and the Wildcats gained possession.
Santa Clara got on the board in the 84th minute as Ashley Doyle's shot went off the woodwork and into the back of the net, making the score 2-1 Arizona.
Arizona defended for their lives in the final five minutes, and the Wildcats won by a score of 2-1. The Wildcats will await the winner of the Stanford-BYU match that will take place at 8 p.m. MST.
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