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Just For Kicks Al Chase |
Creighton turns to
Brown in College CupAndrew Brown, coming off a redshirt year and surgery on his right knee twice, had not played much for Creighton until the Bluejays started moving through the brackets in the NCAA Tournament.
In Creighton's first-round match against Missouri-Kansas City, Guido Leon, the No. 1 goalkeeper for 17 regular-season matches, played the first 45 minutes. Brown played the second half and got the win when the Bluejays scored six goals.
The Mililani grad played all 110 minutes in a second-round win over host San Diego, won by Creighton 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 overtime tie. Brown stopped San Diego's fourth penalty kick for the win.
In the third round, Brown, a junior, played the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 victory over host Virginia as Creighton advanced to the Elite Eight.
Brown and the Bluejays (12-5-4) were scheduled to play St. John's (15-5-3) at Jamaica, N.Y., Friday night, but the storm that dumped 12 to 16 inches of snow on the metropolitan New York area postponed the match to today. The winner advances to the College Cup this coming weekend at Columbus, Ohio.
Brown has played 245 minutes in three NCAA matches, made nine saves and allowed just two goals for a 0.73 goals against average. The 6-foot-2 Brown is four inches taller than Leon and is stronger on crosses and set plays.
Chelsea Montero can walk away from her collegiate soccer career knowing she established herself as a consistent player who never missed a match. The defender for St. Mary's started 79 consecutive matches for the Gaels, beginning with the first match her freshman year. That leaves the Kamehameha graduate in a tie for second place on the all-time school list with four other players, one short of the record.
A position change this year resulted in Montero leading the Gaels in points (11) on four goals and three assists.
"Chelsea traditionally played center back for us, but this year she predominantly played center midfield. This was due to her outstanding skill, vision and distribution skills," said St. Mary's coach Paul Sapsford. "She scored a dramatic goal against USC, chipping their 'keeper from a tight angle.
"She contributed a great deal to the program. The highlights are finishing third in the West Coast Conference this year and a 2001 playoff berth, culminating in a No. 7 national ranking."
Another Hawaii player, Sarah Takekawa, a junior midfielder from Kailua, scored one goal, a game winner, and had one assist for the 8-8-3 Gaels.
David Miyamoto, a midfielder from Mililani, and Tina Gonsalves, a midfielder from Sacred Hearts, wrapped up their careers for St. Andrews Presbyterian (Laurinburg, N.C.).
Gonsalves scored one goal in 17 matches for the Knights.
"David was a steady contributor to our program and community and served as a resident hall assistant," said coach Tom Frambach.
Harvard's Alisa Sato, a senior striker from Iolani, and Maile Tavephoejalern, a sophomore midfielder from Punahou, were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America District I Second Team. Sato is majoring in biology and carries a 3.552 grade point average. Tavephoejalern, an applied mathematics major, has a 3.918 GPA.
See the Columnists section for some past articles. Just for Kicks runs every other Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.
Al Chase can be reached at achase@starbulletin.com