On October 1st, UC San Diego’s Women’s Club Soccer team welcomed Point Loma for a friendly scrimmage to start off the new Fall season. Within the first half, both the Tritons and the Sea Lions came out strong with their heads in the game, ready to work hard and earn a win. However, the Tritons were the first to prove their willpower and determination. With a solid through ball from sophomore Samantha Clardy, junior Makenna Gandara – in her rookie debut – scored a goal with an upper right hand corner shot booming right past the keeper. It was not long after that sophomore, Kristen Wong, came sprinting up the sidelines lofting a beautiful cross to sophomore, Cynthia Ruiz who very athletically volleyed the ball right into the net. It was definitely a goal worth talking about. After a long and hard-working 45 minutes from both teams, Ruiz’s and Gandara’s goals from the Tritons concluded the first half.

As the second half started, UCSD came off a little rusty with a few rough passes here and there, giving Point Loma some confidence to attack the Triton’s backline. However, it did not take long for junior Hannah Hurd to send a fantastic over the top through ball to Makenna Gandara who perfectly placed it to the left hand corner of the goal. Only minutes later did Gandara prove her skills even further with a strong pass to senior Laurel Bowling who made playing forward look like art with goal number four. Before Point Loma knew it, the Tritons had finally gotten their mojo back. For the remainder of the half, UCSD kept up the intensity with a high-quality possession game, leading them to score their fifth goal thanks to the one and only Makenna Gandara once again, with a quality assist from senior Emma Schoenthal. To finish off the game, with another beautiful free kick shot from Makenna Gandara, Tritons took the 6-0 win against Point Loma giving them a solid start to the season. With such a solid victory, UCSD’s Women’s Club Soccer team heads into their first league game against UCLA on October 7th confident and ready to play.