The No. 19 UCSD women’s soccer team continues to fire on all cylinders, stretching its winning streak to five games as sophomore All-American forward Kelly Cochran scored with nine minutes remaining to lift the Tritons over Cal State San Bernardino, 2-1, on Oct. 6.
“It was another typical game,” UCSD head coach Brian McManus said. “There’s no easy game against Cal State San Bernardino, but the girls kept battling away. It was a hundred-mile-per-hour game, with lots of end-to-end stuff.”
The Tritons struggled in the first few minutes, giving up an unassisted goal to the Coyotes’ senior defender Amy Raymond in the 10th minute. Raymond capitalized on her free kick opportunity, getting the ball in the upper net from 25 yards out. The Tritons had five corner kick opportunities in the first half, but were unable to capitalize. They were also outshot, 5-2, by the Coyotes in the first half. However, Raymond’s goal proved to be the only goal that would get past UCSD senior goalie Jamie Lautenschleger, who registered three saves in the game.
In the second half, UCSD countered with a goal off of a corner kick in the 54th minute. Freshman midfielder Caitlin Ryan came off the bench and found the back of the net in the midst of a scramble to tie the game at 1-1. Kristina De La Rosa picked up an assist on Ryan’s goal. Cal State San Bernardino freshman goalie Leslie Rhodes was injured in the play and was replaced by sophomore Melody Spoelstra.
With less than nine minutes left in the match, McManus put Cochran back in the game after resting her and she scored the game-winning goal with a shot from 18 yards out, assisted by freshman forward Ali Lai.
“Kelly Cochran was making a run toward the goal and stuck her foot [out] to send the ball up over the goalie’s head,” McManus said, describing Cochran’s goal.
With the win against Cal State San Bernardino, UCSD improves its record to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. UCSD also holds the third spot in the Far West Region. Meanwhile, the loss dropped the Coyotes to 4-5-2 and 2-3-2 in the CCAA.
The Tritons were forced to play without sophomore forward Alise Malley, who was injured at the Tritons’ last home match against San Francisco State on Oct. 3. McManus expects the starter to miss another week before returning to the lineup.
Cochran’s goal is her team-leading fifth goal of the season; she leads UCSD in scoring, with 12 points, followed by sophomore midfielder Megan Dickey, who has four goals and two assists, giving her 10 points overall.
The Tritons played CCAA newcomer Cal State Monterey Bay (1-8-1) on Oct. 10 in Seaside, Calif. Results from the match were unavailable at press time.
Although the Tritons are not undefeated, the team does boast the highest winning percentage of all programs in the CCAA.
