To stay in first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, the UCSD women’s soccer team needed to win its game against Cal State Stanislaus on Oct. 11. With strong plays in the second half, the Tritons were victorious, 2-1. With its win on Oct. 6 in Davis and only five games left in the regular season, the team looks to finish as strongly as it started.
During the first half of the game, neither team scored. CSUS attempted five shots, but none were allowed into the net by UCSD goalkeeper Kami Poma. In comparison, the Tritons only had one shot against the Warriors. The Tritons rallied in the last two minutes of play to gain several chances to score, but all were unsuccessful.
At halftime, the Tritons went to UCSD head coach Brian McManus for advice.
“”They [the Warriors] were playing more physically than we were,”” McManus said.
The visitors, despite their more inspiring play, had already committed eight fouls.
“”I told them to step up,”” McManus said. “”They needed to play like the other team.””
His choice words were just what the team needed to hear.
At the 55:50 mark, Tritons junior forward Shannon Harrelson scored the first goal of the game on a ball mishandled by Warrior goalkeeper Breanna Vaughan.
Minutes later at 59:49, the Warriors’ Erin Taylor scored on a loose ball in the penalty area. This was the only goal Poma would allow. Less than two minutes later, Triton midfielder Kristen Conahan scored the winning goal with assists from Harrelson and fellow midfielder Amy Goker. The Warriors’ last attempt to score at 85:35 was caught by Poma.
Overall, two of the eight shots taken by the Tritons hit the back of the net, while the Warriors only scored once out of 11 shots.
Coming into the game, the UCSD women’s soccer team was tied for first place in the CCAA with Cal Poly Pomona. With Pomona’s loss on Oct. 11, UCSD maintains sole possession of first place and betters its record to 10-2.