The UCSD women’s soccer team has kept with tradition, clinching its seventh straight California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division title after defeating Cal State Bakersfield on Oct. 15 on a 5-0 shutout.
Senior midfielder Heather Sugg’s tenacious play contributed to UCSD’s 5-0 blowout of Cal State Bakersfield, which came less than a month after the Tritons scored in the last minute of the match to escape with an embarassing 2-2 tie against the Roadrunners.
Not only did the Tritons secure their spot in the 2006 CCAA Championships, but this time they are bringing the season finale home to the Triton Soccer Stadium as host of the tournament on Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, where they hope to snag the CCAA title amid the hype of a home crowd.
Though this appears to be a safe place to sit, with only two league games remaining on the season and an overall record of 14-1-2, the Triton players don’t intend to end their ambitions here, they plan to propel themselves to the national level.
“Winning the South just adds to the craving to win more and more, like an NCAA championship,” senior forward Alise Malley said. “We’re a team that learns from our mistakes and continually grows as a team each game. We are proud to have gotten this far, but we can’t be satisfied or content quite yet.”
Last season, UCSD took the CCAA championship title, but stopped short in the final game at nationals on a 0-2 loss to Seattle Pacific University, giving the team more reason to go all the way.
This thirst for success was reflected in the Cal State Bakersfield match, where the Tritons avenged their 2-2 tie with the Roadrunners on Sept. 22 with a convincing 5-0 win for their ninth shutout victory of the season.
“Beating up on Bakersfield was amazing because it proved that the last game was a fluke and that Bakersfield isn’t anywhere near our league of play,” junior midfielder Ali Lai said.
The Tritons came down hard on the Roadrunners from beginning to end, taking 23 shots on goal and limiting their opponents to only five.
“What gave us the upper hand is that we played our game and forced them to play to our strengths,” sophomore goalkeeper Jessica McGovern said. “We controlled the game, the pace and the style of passing and kicking.”
Senior midfielder Megan Dickey made sure to leave it all on the field in her last league home game with a header into the side of the net, thanks to a line drive into the box from junior forward Kathy Sepulveda.
Six minutes later, senior midfielder Kelly Cochran took her time to shine, putting UCSD up 2-0 with her eighth goal this season, beating the Roadrunner keeper from eight yards out on a pass by fellow freshman midfielder Laura Davey.
The Tritons nailed in three more after the half, the first two within five minutes apart by Malley and junior midfielder Chelsea Campbell, and still managed to keep Cal State Bakersfield scoreless.
“Our defense has been playing exceptionally well,” Malley said. “Not only do we have a solid starting lineup, but our bench is very reliable, so [our coach] doesn’t even hesitate to put in another defender mid-game. You don’t find that often in teams.”
When the line does fall through, the team also has reasonably good stock with McGovern, who holds 42 saves on the season, and is backed by sophomore keeper Mia Shirley, who has not allowed a goal in the four games she has played.
The game came to a close in the final minute of play. Lai was covering the back post on a corner kick ball, which was knocked around the box for a moment before being deflected wide to Lai. Lai then crossed it to junior midfielder Lauren Segars, who drilled it into the net from five yards out for the fifth and final point on the game.
This week the Tritons hit the road for their final two games of the regular season. Though the matches against San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 20 and Oct. 22, respectively, will have no bearing on the Tritons’ seed in conference playoffs, it is imperative that they build up points to secure their spot in NCAA playoffs.
