Four MPSF Teams Qualify for NCAA Tournament

5/4/2010 12:00:00 AM

May 4, 2010

UCLA (20-7 Overall/4-3 MPSF) was the lowest seeded team at No. 5 ever to win an MPSF Tournament Championship. The Bruins scored three upsets in their home pool, 8-6 over No. 4 Hawaii, 8-6 over No. 1 Stanford, and 8-7 in the finals over No. 2 USC, having lost to all three in the regular season conference game. Grace Reynolds totaled seven goals while goalkeeper Caitlin Dement recorded 31 saves. In search of a sixth straight NCAA Championship, the 3 seed and automatic bid begins May 14 against No. 6 seed LMU at San Diego State.

USC (22-3 Overall/6-1 MPSF) was the MPSF Tournament runner-up with a quarterfinal win over No. 7 San Diego State (15-5) and a semifinal win over No. 4 seed California (9-7). Patricia Jancso and Alexandra Kiss put away seven goals apiece in three games. The Trojans scored the most of any team with 31 on the weekend. No. 2 seed USC is an NCAA At-Large selection, first meeting No.7 seed Marist on May 14 in a national quarterfinal.

STANFORD (24-2 Overall/7-0 MPSF) was led by Melissa Seidemann's seven goals in a 2-1 conference tournament. Wins came against No. 8 Arizona State, 10-5 and over No. 4 seed California, 10-3 in the third-place game. The Cardinal allowed the fewest amount of goals with 15. Stanford earned an NCAA At-Large as the No. 1 tournament seed, taking on No. 8 seed Pomona-Pitzer on May 14 in a national quarterfinal.

CALIFORNIA (24-8 Overall/4-3 MPSF) finished fourth with one win over No. 6 seed San Jose State, 7-5, in the MPSF quarterfinal. Emily Csikos led the tournament with four exclusion goals and was second with seven in three games. The 24-8 Bears received one of three NCAA At-Large bids as the No. 4 seed, taking on No. 5 seed Michigan in the May 14 quarterfinal round.

HAWAII (18-8 Overall/4-3 MPSF) won two of three with wins coming over No. 8 seed Arizona State (7-4) and No. 6 seed San Diego State (7-6) for fifth-place. Monika Eggens led the tournament with four exclusion goals and totaled seven in three games. Goalkeeper Serena Bredin combined for 28 saves and allowed the second fewest goals over the weekend with 18.

SAN DIEGO STATE (21-15 Overall/1-6 MPSF) upset No. 6 seed San Jose State, 12-10 in overtime in Saturday's second round. Melissa de Jonckheere tied for the second most goals amongst all MPSF players with seven over the weekend. Kelly Campoli combined for 29 saves while the Aztecs were the top penalty killing team at 85 percent (17-for-20).

SAN JOSE STATE (17-14 Overall/2-5 MPSF) won the seventh-place game over No. 8 seed Arizona State, 10-9. Dani Curran and Adriana Vogt tied for a tournament-high eight goals during the three-day event. Goalkeeper Meagan Minson collected a weekend-high of 35 saves and was second in exclusion saves with eight. The Spartans were third in both power-play efficiency (.333) and penalty-killing (.759).

ARIZONA STATE (16-15 Overall/0-7 MPSF) received three goals apiece in the tournament from Kelly Phelps, Lynlee Smith, and Mariam Salloum in losses to No. 1 Stanford (5-10), No. 4 Hawaii (4-7), and No. 6 San Jose State (9-10). The Sun Devils were third in power-play efficiency during the weekend at 33 percent (10-for-30).

2010 MPSF ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS
Caitlin Dement (MVP), UCLA
Priscilla Orozco, UCLA
Grace Reynolds, UCLA
Kami Craig, USC
Patricia Jancso, USC
Jessica Steffens, Stanford
Camille Hewko, California
Monika Eggens, Hawaii