UC San Diego Defends SD Cup against SDSU

 

UC San Diego Women’s Club Soccer played against city rival San Diego State University on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  The game began hectically, neither team maintaining steady possession of the ball.  After a few minutes, once players’ nerves settled, the Lady Tritons found composure to combine long strings of passes, moving the ball smoothly from the defense to the forwards and back.  The first half saw few shots on goal from either teams, as the ball was kept mostly in the center third of the field.  Ending the first half with a score of 0-0, the anticipation for the second half was building.
Both teams came out strong and hungry for the ball in the second half. Four minutes into the second half, senior forward Olivia Hadidian found the back of the net. The ball sneaked its way through SDSU’s defense and Hadidian was one on one with the goalie. Keeping perfectly composed, Hadidian placed the ball too far left for the goalie to reach and put the Tritons at a 1-0 lead.  Immediately following the first goal, many more opportunities on goal arose for UC San Diego’s offense.  The momentum kept the ball in SDSU’s defensive third; however, not for long, as SDSU picked up the intensity and found a few chances to shoot on senior goal keeper Amy Schwartz but to no avail. The Tritons’ defense and Schwartz remained strong to keep the team’s lead.  SDSU desperately tried to get a goal before the clock ran out but UCSD’s possession kept the Aztecs from having any chances. The final whistle blew and UCSD walked away with another win, effectively defending the city title of Best in San Diego.