Three Cheers for the Home Team
This was a huge weekend for your UC San Diego Tritons as they took on Gauchos of UCSB, on November 14th, and the Trojans of USC, on November 15, in a double header on their home turf. The stakes were high as it was essential that the Tritons win both games in order to claim a spot in the playoffs against the teams from the Northern division of the WCFHC.
The Tritons started the weekend christening the newly renovated Muir Field against their UC rival, the Gauchos from Santa Barbara. Your UC San Diego Tritons started the game off strong securing a 1-0 lead over the Gauchos with a goal scored by forward Taylor Howell. However, in the final few minutes of the first half the Gauchos responded with a sneaky goal that rolled over the goal line during a pile up in the circle. Both teams came out strong in the second half fueled by the high stakes of the match. However the Gauchos were able to score 3 quick goals, claiming a 4-1 lead over the Tritons. While the Tritons fought hard and maintained possession of the ball for a majority of the half, they were unable to find the back of the net on any one of their many scoring opportunities. The game concluded with a 4-1 win to the Gauchos. A big congratulations and thank you to Christine Emuka for stepping up and playing kicker-back during this big match.
Refreshed and ready for another big match the UC San Diego Tritons stepped on the field on Sunday morning to take on the Trojans of USC. The Tritons were determined to secure the win after a tough loss to the Trojans on the USC home turf earlier in the season. After 20 minutes of back and forth with both teams maintaining great possession of the ball, UC San Diego midfielder Vinnu Bhardwaj scored a beautiful goal in the right upper corner off of a reverse chip. The Trojans were enraged and came back at the Tritons in full force. However, it was the Tritons who again were able to find the back of the net. With 7 minutes remaining in the first half, midfield Will Bauer snuck a quick shot past the USC keeper, securing UC San Diego a 2-0 at halftime. In the first 5 minutes of the second half the Trojans scored two quick goals off of two back to back short corner opportunities, leaving the score at 2-2. The Tritons determined to claim the W continued to fight and maintained beautiful possession around the Trojans. Their hard work paid off when forward Taylor Howell tipped the ball into the back of the net off of a shot from midfielder Will Bauer, which put the score at 3-2 Tritons. Unfortunately, the Trojans were able to score a lucky goal on a counterattack, bringing the score back to a draw of 3-3. Tensions and emotions were high on both ends of the field. With just 7 minutes remaining in regulation play, forward Taylor Howell scored another big goal for the Tritons putting the score at 4-3 Tritons. The Tritons were able to hold the Trojans to this score and secured the win over their Southern California rivals. A big big thank you and congratulations to all of your UC San Diego Triton field hockey players for a tremendous weekend and for showing an incredibly amount of heart.
