In the Tritons’ final game of the 2001 regular season last Saturday, the UCSD women’s soccer team struggled but eventually disposed of Grand Canyon University, 1-0.
UCSD was coming off a disappointing overtime loss to California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division rival Cal Poly Pomona on Oct. 24.
Triton sophomore Megan Mendoza scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute when she finished Kristin Jones’ cross. Sophomore Christine Wensel made the initial pass that freed Jones in the corner. The goal was Mendoza’s eighth of the year — second on the team behind senior Erika Alfredson.
Despite the close score, UCSD dominated the game. The Tritons controlled the midfield while the defense stopped nearly every Antelope attack. The women, however, failed to create many scoring chances, leaving Grand Canyon University within striking range.
Grand Canyon nearly capitalized on UCSD’s failure to score when, with less than a minute to go, Jenny Procter’s cross fooled Triton sophomore goalie Kami Poma, grazing the crossbar before harmlessly falling to a Triton defender.
Poma recorded only two saves — both in the second half — leading UCSD to its sixth CCAA shutout of the season.
The lack of scoring did not worry head coach Brian McManus.
“”This type of game was to be expected,”” he said. “”Neither of us had anything to play for and the girls may have been looking forward to the [CCAA] tournament.””
This game was also Senior Night for the women’s soccer team. Laura Dooly, Jessica Cordova, Elizabeth Hughes, Julia Cuder, Erika Alfredson and Nikki Richards all played their final regular-season game at Triton Soccer Stadium. Senior Kara Morris, the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship defensive most valuable player, could not play because she is recovering from knee surgery, during which a chipped bone was removed last week.
UCSD finished the CCAA regular season with a 12-2 record, easily capturing the South Division title.
However, the year is not over for the seniors — UCSD heads into the CCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will play North Division champions UC Davis on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. In the other semifinal, Cal Poly Pomona will play Cal State Dominguez Hills at 5 p.m. the same day. The men’s semifinals start at 11:30 a.m. All games will be played at Triton Soccer Stadium.
