Box score
HOUSTON—Host Houston Baptist defeated NJIT, 1-0, in the opening round of the 2010 Great West Conference women's soccer tournament Friday night, with the only goal coming 20 seconds into the second half.
NJIT, which finished the season at 4-13-1, came in as the second-seeded team in the GWC East Division after posting a 3-3 mark in the conference regular season, all in games within its own division.
HBU, the host team for the tournament, was seeded fourth in the West Division after going 2-4 in that side of the conference. The Huskies, 6-13-1 overall, advance to one of Saturday's semifinal matches.
The winning goal for the Huskies was unassisted, scored on a 30-yard kick by sophomore Brandi Hart, who found the back of the net for the third time in 2010.
Neither team put the opposing goalkeeper under sustained pressure, as Houston Baptist had a slight edge in overall shots (9-6), but a bigger edge in shots on goal (4-1). Houston Baptist freshman goalkeeper Shelby Horn made one save in recording the shutout.
Piper Lunan, voted by the East Division coaches as the 2010 Offensive Player of the Year, had the only shot on goal for the Highlanders.
NJIT goalkeeper Sadie Mele, the East Division Defensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons, made three saves in the final appearance of her fine career.
The resident of Rio Rancho, NM, played every minute of every game in her four-year career. Her freshman season, 2007, was also the first as a championship-eligible member of NCAA Division I for the NJIT program.
Although wins have not been plentiful for the building program in her career, Mele's high level of play and athleticism have enabled the Highlanders to be more competitive in many games than they likely would have been without her.
The season-ending defeat to Houston Baptist marked the eighth time this season NJIT has allowed one or two goals in a game but still lost. The Highlanders also have a 1-1 tie. Three of NJIT's four wins had low scores, too, as the Highlanders twice won, 2-1, and also had a 1-0 victory.
Three other NJIT seniors joined Mele in playing their final career games Friday night. Kori Washington and Mary Munoz started, while Christi Taylor was one of three substitutes against HBU. Two other seniors, Michelle Borth and Kyrsten Howell-Harries were unavailable due to earlier injuries that prevented their participation.
