The date was April 3rd. It was a cold, grey, windy Sunday night when UCSD’s women’s club soccer team faced off against San Diego State University. The team arrived early for a pre-game celebration of what was no ordinary game day: today was Senior night. Nadia Haghani, Reese Finn, and Marissa Lynch were to play their last ever home game. On that beloved field they had fought tooth and nail for many victories over their four years at UCSD, and tonight would be no different.

The game began with a dominating stride for UCSD. Possession was strong and passing was fast and accurate. However, SDSU would not go down without a fight and the small victories of the first half came at a cost: Naomi Araujo, playing center back, was marking a player with a striking enthusiasm for shoving and bodying. When she came off the field and the girls convened, sweaty but determined to win during half-time, her white socks were smeared with Warren’s mud. She had slid and fallen and gotten back up, all in the name of UCSD club soccer.

The second half began with an underwhelming drop in possession for UCSD, and the SDSU girls got a couple mediocre shots on goal, which were no match for Allison Lee’s diving and catching abilities. Toward the halfway mark of that second half, something beautiful happened. Roni Yonce, affectionately dubbed “Ronnald” by her teammates, took a high and swooping shot at distance from the right side of the field. The ball dipped toward the top left corner. The SDSU keeper dove and missed. When the ball hit the back of the net, the crowd went wild. The players on the bench and the fans in the stands went wild. The rest of the game was forgettable in the shadow cast by that one glorious shot that got UCSD the win (1-0) on senior night!