Friday, October 12th the Tritons drove up to UCSB for the 15th Annual UC Santa Barbara Women’s Club Soccer Invitational. The first game of the tournament was Friday night under the lights against Cal Poly SLO. The Mustangs had some very good crosses and balls that caught the Tritons off-guard, after some adjustment the Tritons were able to relax and connect some passes. The first goal the Mustangs scored was a shot from the top of the box. At the half, it was 0-1 with SLO leading. The Tritons did not give up and started the second half off very strong. Lots of good communication and crisp passes. However, they were never able to get a goal, despite the many opportunities they had. The second goal that SLO scored was an unlucky goal. The ball got passed one of our defenders’ feet and made it a one on one and the ball got in the back of the goal. The Tritons never gave up and gave the Mustangs a run for their money.

On Saturday October 13th, 2018, UCSD’s Women’s Club Soccer team took on Nevada for their second game in the UC Santa Barbara women’s club soccer tournament. After a tough loss against Cal Poly, it’s safe to say the lady Tritons were ready to win. After a 2pm kickoff, the first half started slow with the tritons playing down to Nevada’s level. Despite playing down a level, UCSD created many chances, yet they could not put one away and struggled in the final third. Nevada created some scary chances, but were never able to put anything together against the Triton backline. After the halftime whistle blew, the Triton captains pumped the team up, which was apparent in the play of the second half. With an early second half goal by UCSD Women’s club soccer veteran, forward Miriam Bell, the Tritons were ready to rumble. Wicked through balls and quick, accurate passing, allowed the Tritons to create even more opportunities in the final third. The Tritons clicked; communication could be heard from miles away and UCSD looked unstoppable against Nevada. The brace goal came from senior center back, Hannah Hurd, when she stole the ball in the back and dribbled through Nevada, connecting with her teammates along the way to finish the ball in the back of the net. The Tritons held off Nevada for the rest of the half to finish the game with a 2-0 win.

On Saturday night, October 13th, the UCSD Women’s Club Soccer team took on Loyola Marymount University at this year’s UCSB Women’s Club Soccer Invitational. With the momentum from the team’s previous win earlier that day, UCSD started off strong, scoring three goals in the first 35 minutes, the first tipped in by sophomore Allison Long, followed by freshmen, Nadia Haghani, then hammered in by junior Mckenzie Kirn, ending the half with a score of 3-0. The lead allowed the team to work on playing with all the new teammates and strive to increase the score. Determined to gain more points with the possibility of advancing in their bracket, UCSD proceeded to score 2 more goals in the second half, one by Miriam Bell, and the other by Molly Serna making the final score a whooping 5-0 for the Tritons. The win allowed the team to place 2nd in their bracket and bring up the team spirit for the following game.

On Sunday October 14th, UCSD women’s club soccer took on USD for their fourth and final match of the Santa Barbara Invitational. Unfortunately, UCSD fell short and lost 2-0 in a tough battle. This score does not reflect the hard work every player put into the game and the intensity that was carried out until the game was over. The team was able to connect well on and off the ball, but even with strong shots they were unlucky with finishing in the final third. With this being the fourth game of the weekend, UCSD fought through fatigue and were able to put up a good game against USD. A special shout-out to senior captain Rachel Ng for being a leader on the field and working hard in the back line making sure the team remained organized. Losing to USD has only motivated the team to work harder and recognize the importance of every match, regardless if it’s a league or tournament game. UCSD has a week to rest and properly prepare for their next match against UCLA, which will be pivotal on their road to regionals.