Despite the rain drops echoing on the bleachers and the buzz from nearby FallFest ringing in their ears, the Triton home crowd pulled together some impressive numbers to support the UCSD women’s soccer team on Oct. 13.
Sophomore midfielder Amanda Esquivel booted out the Cal State Los Angeles competition on Oct. 13 to secure the No. 1 spot in the Far West region and fifth place in the national rankings.
“The track team is always really supportive and it was interesting to have the cheerleaders at one of our games as well,” sophomore goalkeeper Jessica McGovern said. “I was shocked at how many people came; it really kept our spirits up.”
The seriousness of the match was evident as UCSD aimed to earn the No. 1 spot in their division. However, the fans enabled the Tritons to keep their nerves low and spirits high to shut out the Golden Eagles 4-0, an identical score to the previous match against Cal State Los Angeles back on Sept. 24. This was the ninth time in their season that the Tritons forced a shutout win.
With the victory, the Tritons pushed their record to 13-1-2 overall and 10-1-2 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play, while securing the fifth spot in the nation and first place in the Far West region. Cal State Los Angeles rests at No. 9.
Senior midfielder Heather Sugg scored the first goal in the 4-0 win over the Golden Eagles. The Tritons pushed their to 13-1-2 with a 10-1-2 record in CCAA action.
The Tritons managed to keep the pressure on the Golden Eagles’ offense throughout the entire game. “The fact that I only had two saves in the whole game shows just how good our defense is and how involved the team was in wanting the win,” McGovern said.
The Tritons broke their trend of scoring only in the second half, earning half of their goals in the first half. Senior midfielder Kelly Cochran set the tone for the game and put through the first goal in the 21st minute on a header pass from fellow senior midfielder Heather Sugg.
Senior midfielder Megan Dickey and sophomore forward Natasha Belak-Berger pulled together in the 43rd minute to set up a solid pass to junior midfielder Ali Lai, who slammed it in from five yards out.
The Triton teamwork was very obvious and essential during the game for creating plays, as every goal was on more than one touch.
“Our team was doing a great job at connecting passes and being creative,” McGovern said. “The goals were not just a matter of kicking the ball up-field and hoping someone was nearby to fetch it and take a lucky shot, like many of the teams we face tend to do.”
The Tritons got tricky in demonstrating their teamwork abilities after the intermission when senior forward Alise Malley sent a pass across the box that drew out the Golden Eagle goalie. Lai followed up by running over the ball without touching it to fake out the keeper, leaving an open net for junior forward Kathy Sepulveda to make the score to reach a 3-1 lead.
The final goal came in the 77th minute of play as junior midfielder Lauren Segars beat the Cal State Los Angeles keeper for the last time, thanks to clean passes from fellow midfielders, sophomore Kelly Mayo and freshman Alexia Zatarian.
UCSD maintained control the entire game, outshooting Cal State Los Angeles by a 21-3 margin, and earned a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The game on Oct. 15 against Cal State Bakersfield was important for maintaining the Tritons’ current record as well as their pride. Having tied Cal State Bakersfield 2-2 on Sept. 22, the Tritons aimed to prove that the previous match was not representative of their overall strength.
The match was the last home game in league play for outgoing seniors Dickey, Cochran, Sugg and Malley.
“They have been an integral part of our team’s chemistry on the field,” McGovern said. “They have genuinely set a high bar for the rest of us to aspire toward.”
