The 11th-ranked UCSD women’s soccer team found itself in a hole at halftime on Oct. 3, trailing visiting Chico State, 2-1. But thanks to some impassible defense and constant offensive pressure, the Tritons shut out the Wildcats in the second half and netted three goals to wind up winning, 4-2.
Back on track: The Tritons rebounded from a loss on Sept. 28 against CSUDH and a 2-1 halftime deficit to beat Chico State 4-2 on Oct. 3.
UCSD rebounded well after suffering its first loss of the season to CSU Dominguez Hills on Sept. 28. The Tritons trailed 3-0 in the second half of that game and nearly came back to win it with two late goals. This time, the comeback could not be denied.
“”We always end the game well,”” said head coach Brian McManus. “”We really come on in the second half. Even when we were down 3-0 earlier this week, we came on and almost won it.””
Things looked promising from the start. Senior Megan Mendoza corralled a weak goal kick by Chico State goalie Angela Orr, who had trouble clearing the ball throughout the game. Mendoza knifed down the center of the field and got the ball to forward Kelly Cochran on the right side. The freshman didn’t need many touches to unleash a shot from the top right of the 18-yard box. Cochran’s fourth goal of the season found the lower left corner.
Out in front: Midfielder Kristen Conahan pushes the ball away from a Wildcat.
However, Chico State answered back at the 34-minute mark with a breakaway score. Two Wildcat forwards one-touched their way through the Triton defense and found themselves in a two-on-one with UCSD junior goalie Jamie Lautenschleger. The keeper came out to try and cut the angle, but she had to worry about the shot and the pass. The situation proved too difficult, and Janelle Raaff tallied the first goal for Chico State.
A little over a minute later, Amy Swanson lobbed a 30-yard shot toward Lautenschleger. The ball appeared to be headed over the crossbar, but gave a deceptive dip at the end. Lautenschleger may have gotten a finger on the ball as it grazed the lower portion of the crossbar and into the goal. She then booted the ball to midfield.
“”Those are the kinds of goals goalies get beat by,”” McManus said of the deep goal. “”Jamie played every ball well before that. She had a good game.””
The two successive goals seemed to deflate the Tritons, who began to play more in their own end, as Chico State pushed a bit more offensively. But that was as close as the visitors would come to victory.
Senior Shannon Harrelson banged home the tying goal in the 48th minute after UCSD scoring leader Kristin Jones passed the ball back from the goalie box to Harrelson at the 18-yard line. In the 71st minute, senior Amy Goker put the game away for good when Chico State’s goalie misplayed her shot.
UCSD picked up an insurance goal in the 83rd minute to round out the scoring. The attack developed from the defense, which was a theme during the second half. Senior Christine Wensel found herself 15 yards of space and pushed forward with the ball. She passed up the left flank to Jones, who advanced the ball one player further to Cochran. Cochran served the ball toward the top of the box and after a little scramble, the ball rolled toward freshmen Heather Sugg. She one-timed the ball into the left corner, not even giving the goalie a chance.
“”It just happened that I was able to find the space to push up,”” Wensel said. She was a constant menace to Chico State in the second half, setting up numerous plays for the forwards.
Excluding the late part of the first half, the Tritons dominated the entire game. They led in corner kicks, 9-2. One corner teetered on the edge of the goal line before the Chico State goalie pounced on it. A set piece inside the Chico State box bent around a wall, only to clang off the inside of the left post.
The Tritons suffered a loss of a different sort early in the contest. Freshmen Megan Dickey collided with goalie Angela Orr, sending Dickey hard to the ground. She was taken off the field and did not return. McManus speculates an injured meniscus.
“”We’ll see tomorrow,”” he said. “”Our freshmen played well today. Losing Megan would be tough for our midfield.””
