Oct. 27, 2011
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. - The University of San Diego women's soccer team scored two goals in the first half and tagged on one more in the second to defeat Gonzaga University 3-0 in a West Coast Conference match Thursday evening at the Gonzaga Soccer Field.
The Bulldogs (7-9-2, 0-5-2 WCC), who opened league play with two ties; have since dropped five-straight matches. In contrast, the Toreros (10-7-0, 5-1-0 WCC) stand in third in the WCC standings and have won five-straight matches after opening the conference slate with a loss.
Gonzaga was outshot 9-1 in the first half. USD senior striker Stephanie Ochs had six of the nine shots for USD in the first 45 minutes but it was her passing ability that helped the Toreros the most as she was credited with both assists in the first half.
Ochs first assist came at the 21:16 mark when she laid the ball off to teammate Meghan O'Rourke who was running to the middle of Gonzaga's 18-yard box. O'Rourke used Ochs as a shield and found the bottom left corner of the goal for the 1-0 advantage. Ochs then beat her defender nearly seven minutes later down the right flank and served in a ball that was one-touched into the goal by Kelley McCloskey. It was McCloskey's second goal of the season that put the Toreros up 2-0.
The Bulldogs only shot of the first half came at the 15:13 mark on a header by junior Emily Hutchins that went wide right.
It didn't take Gonzaga that long in the second half to get a shot off as freshman Katey Pennington, usually a defender for the Zags who was moved to midfield and became a thorn in USD's side, got a shot on goal in the 57th minute that was saved by Torero goalkeeper Courtney Parsons.
However, two minutes later San Diego increased its lead to 3-0 when Dani Russell headed in a free kick taken by Natalie Garcia at the 59:56 mark.
The Bulldogs closed out the second half with five shots and held the Toreros to six. For the match, San Diego held the 15-6 shot advantage and had the 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
Gonzaga keeper Susan Brown made four saves in the match and Parsons was credited with two.
The Toreros will return to action on Saturday, as they head to Provo, Utah to take on the newest member of the WCC Brigham Young University in a 1 p.m. match.
