The UCSD Women’s Soccer team ends its season with a 13-3-4 overall record, losing against Chico State at home for a second-round exit from the NCAA National tournament.

The Tritons received a first-round bye with the first-seed, awaiting the winner of the bout on Friday between Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus.
The first-round match pitting the Wildcats against the Warriors — a repeat of the CCAA conference championships last weekend, Nov. 6 — went into double overtime. Still drawn 1-1, the match was finally decided in penalty kicks, with the Wildcats scraping past Stanislaus for the win.

Although Chico State played 110 minutes just two days prior, the Wildcats did not seem fatigued in their second-round matchup with the Tritons.In the opening minutes of the match, UCSD controlled the ball in the Wildcats’ half, doing well to control the tempo of the game. The Tritons had a few dangerous chances, recording three shots and four corner kicks more than the Wildcats in the first 20 minutes.

But in the 24th minute, Chico State brought on midfielder Megan Tabler. With her first touches on the ball, Tabler collected a flat UCSD goal kick sent into the middle of the field, dishing the ball wide to forward Lisa Webster. Deep into the Triton goal box, UCSD senior goalkeeper Kristin Armstrong challenged Webster, but the forward was just able to slide onto the ball to put the Wildcats up 1-0.

Down 1-0, UCSD continued to attack, but was finding it increasingly difficult to get past the defense-minded Wildcats, who play with an unorthodox five-man backline and only one striker up top.With the clock winding down in the first half, head coach Brian McManus replaced all of his starting midfielders and forwards with reserves in hopes of giving the first-team some time to regroup and attack in the second half. But at this point in the match, Chico seemed the dominant squad, pushing further into UCSD’s half of the field.

“Give [Chico State] credit. They played very well and good luck to them next weekend,” said McManus.”

At the start of the second half, the Wildcats seemed intent on holding their 1-0 lead, staying compact and double-teaming the Triton forwards. Despite the high pressure, UCSD continued to record good chances on goal, registering three times as many shots than the Wildcats.

With the score still 1-0 late in the second half and the Tritons’ forwards still tied up, UCSD tried launching balls deep into Chico’s half for their outside midfielders — senior Shelby Wong and junior Jessica Wi — to run onto. The wingers ran the ball down the flanks and worked them out for corner kicks. Junior defender Hayley Johnson teed up for 10 corner kicks in the campaign, but the Tritons were unable to finish.

The game ended with a Johnson corner kick that found the head of junior Britnee Chesney. The attempt missed just over the crossbar.

“The team played as well as they have played within the last month or so, but today was just one of those days,” said McManus. “It wasn’t meant to be. The ball wasn’t going to go in the back of their net. [Chico State] got one decent scoring opportunity and they took it.”

The Tritons end a season that, at its start, seemed to be the most promising that the program had seen in a good many years. UCSD finished the regular season at the top of the conference with only one loss.

But the Tritons may have peaked there, as they fell to Cal State Stanislaus in the conference semifinals before crashing out of the national tournament.

The game marks the last match for UCSD’s nine graduating seniors: Courtney Capobianco, Sarah Garland, Katie Kuykendall, Lindsay Mills, Sara Spaventa, Annie Wethe, Kristin Armstrong, Sarah McTigue and Shelby Wong.