Box Score TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (November 17, 2021) – Relieving. Thrilling. Invigorating.
All those adjectives, and many more, represented the feelings of the No. 5 Salt Lake Community College Women's Soccer program after an NJCAA tournament match Wednesday, with the Bruins advancing to the NJCAA semifinals for the second time in program history thanks to a strong win. SLCC earned a nail-biting 1-0 victory over No. 4 Iowa Western in Daytona Beach, Fla., advancing from Pool D of the NJCAA Division-I Women's Soccer National Championships. Salt Lake is now 16-3-1 with the victory.
"Tonight's win versus Iowa Western was a good test and a good win," said Bruins coach
Cassie Ulrich. "The ladies set an entirely new standard yesterday against Butler, and although today's game asked different things of us tactically, they brought the same mentality."
Playing a perennial NJCAA power, Salt Lake and Iowa Western were both scoreless until the 83
rd minute, with the Bruins scoring on a
Cecilia Norman goal to take the lead for good. The statistic told the story of how close the match was, with Iowa Western holding a narrow 10-9 edge over Salt Lake in total shots. Defense was critical for SLCC in the win, as Bruins goalkeeper
Katrina Gardner made a trio of saves.
"It's tough to play back-to-back days, and I'm proud of how the team played," said Ulrich. "This group is really rising to the moment, and when we do that, we are very good."
Salt Lake will now advance to Friday's NJCAA semifinals, where the Bruins will face off against top-seeded Tyler at 12:00 p.m. EST. Seminole State (OK) and Eastern Florida State will play in the other semifinal, with the championship match scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST on Saturday.
"Playing Tyler in the semifinal is exactly where we want to be," Ulrich said. "We're ready for a great game."
