NCAA Soccer Quarterfinal

SSC: MSU falls to Cal State-Dominguez Hills, 2-1
From the LSC Website

No. 3 Midwestern State fell to No. 9 California State-Dominguez Hills in Saturday's NCAA Division II national quarterfinal as the Toros claimed a 2-1 result.

Dominguez Hills (19-2-4) claimed its 17th-straight victory at Toro Stadium and will advance to the NCAA Division II Championships on Dec. 5 and 7 in Tampa. The Toros will face the winner of tomorrow's quarterfinal between the University of Tampa and Tusculum University.

The Toros took advantage of a misclear in the third minute of the second half as Chris Perkins collected the ball near the top of the box and served a pass to Jordan Rover who one-touched the ball to Scott Mariano who beat MSU keeper with a one-timer.

Dominguez Hills tacked on a second goal on a counter in the 63rd minute when Rover once again hit Mariano breaking free on the left. Mariano shot a laser from just outside of the box to give the Toros a 2-0 lead.

The Mustangs, who placed seven of their 13 shots on goal, were unable to take advantage of a golden opportunity just 40 seconds before intermission. Junior Nick Auditore took a through ball and beat Dominguez Hills' goalkeeper Miguel Benitez to the far post, but the shot missed narrowly wide as the teams went scoreless into intermission.

The Mustangs broke through in the 85th minute when Auditore notched his 12th goal of the season when he collected a long pass from center back Robert Swann. Auditore dribbled into the box and beat Benitez to the near post to cut the margin to 2-1.

Midwestern continued to put the pressure on the Toros, but Bentez came through with his sixth save of the match on a sprawling dive to snarl Craig Sutherland's drive from the top of the box in the 88th minute.

The Mustangs close the season with a 19-3 mark after advancing to the NCAA Division II national semifinals last season.