ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sophomore Niki Tomita (Redwood City, Calif./Woodside) notched her second hat trick over the last 10 days to propel the Carleton College women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Macalester College in the finals of the MIAC Playoffs. With the win, the Knights clinched the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
In the process, Carleton improved to 6-0-4 over the last five weeks and became the first No. 4 seed ever to win the MIAC Women’s Soccer Playoffs. This was also Carleton’s first victory at Macalester since 1984.
“We are really excited to return to the NCAA tournament, as it was among the goals we set for this season,” said Carleton head coach Keren Gudeman. “Our return is due, in large part, to our close relationships, the fun we have together, and our desire to continue improving and playing better and better soccer.”
After scoring only two goals over the first 15 games, Tomita has become an offensive dynamo as of late, scoring crucial goals at critical moments. She has found the back of the net 10 times over the last two weeks, spanning five contests.
She tallied the first goal of tonight’s contest in the 36th minute. Merritt Swain (Jr./Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Paul Academy) served the ball from the midfield into the box, where Marlena Hartman-Filson (Fy./Evergreen, Colo./Colorado Academy) headed it forward. Tomita held off her defender and slotted a six-yard shot past Macalester keeper Rosie Glenn-Finer.
It took the Knights less than three-and a-half minutes to add to their lead. Liz Arakaki (Jr./Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale) carried the ball in along the left side and served it into the box where Tomita was able to elude her defender and tap in a shot with outside of her right foot.
“Niki’s game speaks for itself. She’s just a scoring machine,” Gudeman said. “She’s combining well with everyone and gets herself to the right spot at the right time. She puts her body on the line and does what it takes to get on the end of stuff and put it in the back of the net.”
Due to strong overall defensive effort, Carleton goalkeeper Beth Ashinsky (Fy./Mount Kisco, N.Y./Horace Greeley) only needed to make two stops in recording her fifth shutout of the season. Perhaps her biggest save came shortly before intermission when she re-directed Emily Humphreys’ shot up and over the crossbar in the 44th minute.
“That was a fantastic save,” said Gudeman. “It’s a very different game going into halftime with a two-goal lead rather than only a one-goal advantage. Beth does a great job of communicating, and tonight was no different. She did such a great job coming out to clear stuff up.”
With Macalester pressing forward in an attempt to get into the game, Tomita finished the hat trick with a counterattack goal in the 85th minute. Lily VanderStaay (So./Bellingham, Wash.) received a pass in the middle of the field and chipped it ahead to Tomita’s whose one-touch blast past Glenn-Finer completed the evening’s scoring.
“Macalester did well to put us on our heels early in the first half, but we started to step up and win more balls in the air, which was critical to finding our rhythm,” Gudeman said. “Defensively, we did well to contain their speed and force tough-angle shots and shots from the outside. Our midfielders worked really hard to go on the attack but also took responsibility for getting back to help defend the counterattack.”
While the Knights already know that they will be among the 63 teams in the NCAA tournament field, they must wait until Monday, Nov. 9 to learn who their opening opponent is and where that contest will be played.
“It’s exciting. I’m so proud of this team,” Gudeman said. “Since last spring we’ve had a number of injuries, and we struggled a bit over the early part of the season to fill new roles and make adjustments. We’re young, and as we’ve gotten to know each other, we’ve gotten really strong as a group on and off the field.”