Before the UCSD women’s soccer team’s match against Sonoma State, UCSD sophomore midfielder Megan Dickey addressed her teammates in a huddle, reminding them that the match could be head coach Brian McManus’ 299th win.
“A lot of [the matches this weekend were] for him,” Dickey said.
The Tritons came through and put their coach one victory closer to his 300th with their 3-1 win over the Seawolves on Oct. 1 at RIMAC Field. And on Oct. 3, against San Francisco State, Dickey scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to help McManus clinch his 300th win.
Against Sonoma State, sophomore forward Kelly Cochran and freshman midfielder Ali Lai led the way notching a goal and an assist apiece while Dickey contributed the game-winning goal. However, UCSD had a rough start in the beginning of the first quarter before settling down.
“The first 20 minutes, we struggled badly,” McManus said. “Sonoma State was giving us a clinic. But after that, we started playing well.”
Lai headed in a goal from six yards out in the 33rd minute of the match, with the assist going to senior midfielder Jaclyn Shaffer.
About five minutes later, Cochran fed a pass to Dickey, who took a shot 25 yards out. The ball fooled the Sonoma State goalie when it looked like it was going to sail above the goal, but it dipped down and found the right corner.
“I actually didn’t think it was going in,” said Dickey, surprised her shot found the back of the net.
The Tritons continued attacking in the second half, with Cochran tallying the final goal for the Tritons from 10 yards out off of a pass from Lai. Sonoma State attempted a comeback, scoring with less than 12 minutes left in the match. Rita Herghelian headed in a pass from teammate Angela Wion, breaking UCSD’s shutout attempt. The Tritons played solid defense after giving up the goal and sealed McManus’ 299th victory. With his milestone looming, he did not want his players to think too far ahead.
“We’ll wait and see,” McManus said. “It’s always dangerous to start planning before we get there. I’d love to get it here but we have to play well first.”
A crowd of 502 gathered for the match against San Francisco State, and fans hung banners congratulating McManus in anticipation of the win.
San Francisco State proved to be a tough opponent for the Tritons, with the Gators’ goalie, Erin Clark making several key saves against UCSD. She led the way in forcing the Tritons to steal the win in double overtime.
“We came out off a big win against Sonoma,” Dickey said. “There was a lot of pressure for our coach to have us step up and play. When the game ended in regulation, we were still 0-0. It put a little more intensity in it, and made us realize what we had to do, if not for ourselves then for our coach.”
The Tritons stepped up and handed their coach his milestone.
McManus knew the pressure was on his team to pull through and win at home.
“I’m glad we got it at the first attempt,” McManus said. “Otherwise, it becomes a big monkey on your back. I thought it was an ugly game, San Francisco is always tough. They battle like hell. I thought the girls did well, we hung in.”
After the win, the Tritons surrounded McManus, congratulating him, and dumped water from the cooler on his back. The crowd also stood up and celebrated his milestone, including former players Christine Wensel and Megan Mendoza from the class of 2004.
In his 18 years of coaching, McManus holds a 300-36-20 overall record.
