UC San Diego Faces Off Against Washington State University
UC San Diego Women’s Club Soccer kicked off their national showcase with a 1-0 win against Washington State. Despite the early morning drive to Temecula for an 8am game, UC San Diego easily maintained control and pace of the game from the kick off. A bit of back and forth between the teams earned, junior, Emma Schoenthal a penalty kick in the first half, but with a miraculous save, the Washington State keeper barely managed to knock it away. By half time, the score was stagnant at 0-0 leaving UC San Diego to pull together a more definite attack. After switching around a bit of the attacking line-up, forwards Laurel Bowling and Elizabeth Blackwell were able to get a few combinations that led Blackwell wide for a low, 90 degree cross and finish by Bowling in the 6 yard box. UC San Diego had many more opportunities to score after this that just weren’t finished, but the 1-0 win set them on a good path for success for the weekend.
Tritons Barely Clench Victory
In the second game of the National Showcase, the Tritons faced off against the women from Western Nevada College. The Heat was pounding and both teams were affected by the dryness of the heat but The Western Nevada women came out strong and caught the UC San Diego defense off guard and scored the first goal of the game. Quickly the Tritons found their groove and scored two goals before the end of the half, thanks to Miriam Bell. As the whistle blew for the start of the second half, the Nevada women again pulled a fast one and scored a goal to tie the game up. It took the tritons a little longer this half to find their groove as the Nevada women scored another goal to put the Tritons down for the second time during the game. Thankfully, Lizzie Blackwell broke through the defense and juked the goalie to tie up the score and in the last minutes of the game, defender Alex Diaz went up for a corner and headed the ball right into the net to put the Tritons up 4-3. The final whistle blew and San Diego advanced to the semi-finals the next day.
Tritons Whomp on the Cardinals
After a Saturday full of victories, the UC San Diego tritons rose at 7 a.m. to make the journey to the semi–finals with the impression that our opponent would be Washington State University, a team which gave the UC San Diego tritons their first victory of the weekend. However, upon arrival the tritons were surprised to see a last minute change in the schedule which now had the tritons playing Stanford University. Nevertheless, unfazed by the situation the UC San Diego ladies rose to the occasion and pulled a 3-0 shut out win over the Stanford girls! With two goals by first-year graduate student Mariam Bell, and one by freshman Cynthia Ruiz, the tritons advanced into the finals to face UC Davis.
UC San Diego Vs. UC Davis Round Two in the Finals
After three intense games already under their belts, the UC San Diego Woman’s Club Soccer team had fought their way to the Championships. After nearly 60 minutes of an even battle between both UC San Diego and Davis, an unlucky goal slipped in against UC San Diego. The San Diego women gave everything they had and fought till the end in a physically and emotionally trying game. As the whistle blew and the Davis team cheered for the first place slot they managed to barely grab, the UC San Diego woman’s team came together praising one another in their incredible efforts and teamwork. Although they didn’t come out on top in the game, they had the best people to call a family at the end of such a grueling tournament without a doubt. The Tritons play their last game of the year against San Diego State University on Wednesday, May 3rd at 8:30 pm on Sports Deck where the winner of the San Diego Cup will be crowned.
