After 110 minutes of grueling back-and-forth action between the SF State women’s soccer team and the UC San Diego Tritons, Sunday afternoon’s match ended in a 0-0 draw, and marked the first of the season for the Gators.
Once again, SF State’s offense struggled throughout the game after only producing seven shots on goal in both regulation time and overtime.
“I think we played well, it was very physical out there today,” said defender Stephanie Vanni. “We need to be more aggressive and attack more.”
The Gators’ two clear shots on goal came within the 16 minutes of the first half, as Autumn Fox dribbled around the Tritons’ defense but could not capitalize as her shot was high over the crossbar.
Midfielder Rachel Arce also had a one-on-one opportunity on goal as she was left free in the penalty area, but could not score as goalie Kelcie Brodsky saved the shot.
“It’s so frustrating to not be able to finish the play,” Arce said. “We work so hard for 90 minutes, and then we get us into overtime and work hard for another 20 minutes and we get so little chances. So when we can’t finish them it’s just heartbreaking.”
Sunday’s match was physical with the teams combining for 15 fouls by the end. Both defender Sarah Guensler and forward Alex Palomino were given yellow cards after hard fouls against UC San Diego.
Twenty-three minutes into the match, UC San Diego’s forward Katie O’Laughlin’s foot collided with SF State defender Molly Schuster’s foot as the Triton attempted a shot on goal. Schuster grimaced in agony on the pitch as she hobbled to walk the pain off. A few minutes later, she was substituted for defender Graceann Rettig.
Most of the game was played on the Gators’ side of the pitch in the last minutes of the first half as Tritons maintained possession of the ball.
“I thought our players played well and left it all on the field,” said head coach Jack Hyde. “A lot of people hobbled off after the game. So that means that they really put everything out today. We’ll go to the trainer, (who) will reevaluate them, and he’ll let us know if they can practice or get treatment.”
The Gators’ defense once again had another stellar performance today in the back field. Goalkeeper Allison Land had five saves throughout the match.
“It’s what we asked of them,” said Hyde. “We struggled the last couple of games, and when you lose in overtime it takes a lot out of you.”
The Gators’ next match will be against the Hawai’i-Hilo Vulcans, a non CCAA team. The match takes place at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at Cox Stadium.
