Game 1 vs UCSB:

Starting regionals strong and rested after a long six hour drive from UCSD to San Luis Obispo for Women’s Club Soccer Regionals! Thank you to our trooper drivers who could barely shake out their legs. We had our first game of the tournament at 6 pm versus Santa Barabara who we played just the other week. With a strong starting lineup and the support of our Coach Gerardo, we used new tactics to stay in their half. We played wide to our first wingers Jada and Suhana who utilized our space by going down the line and crossing into the box. With Teah in goal and later Yukari, we were able to play the whole game without letting a goal in! With Jules and Bella as our center backs and Sav and Elli as our outside backs, the defenders made such a big difference allowing the middle to stay open and play through our center mids to play out to our forwards and create chances! We hit the crossbar about 6 times… we were so close. Elli Sanford received a cross and headed the ball and it almost went in! Jules sent perfect through balls creating so many opportunities. We finished our first game 0-0, although disappointed with no goal, we were hungry for our next game versus SLO where we were able to rest up and play at 11 am.

Game 2 vs Cal Poly SLO:

Early Saturday morning, the UCSD Tritons faced off against the Cal Poly Mustangs with a spot in the semifinals on the line. The Tritons dominated possession early on, skillfully connecting passes and executing a high press. However, 15 minutes into the game, the Mustangs scored off a header from a corner kick, and UCSD’s composure began to waver as fatigue from the previous day set in. A wave of fresh legs from the bench helped the Tritons end the first half strong, and shortly after halftime, center-back Allie Spong sent a beautiful long ball through Cal Poly’s defense to Suhana Singh who calmly found the back of the net. Despite their relentless efforts, the Tritons couldn’t recover after the Mustangs capitalized on an unlucky clearance, ending UCSD’s tournament run.