SAN DIEGO - San Diego women's soccer (4-1) defeated Long Beach State (2-2) 2-1 Thursday night in Torero Stadium. 

The Toreros took the lead in the third minute through junior Michaela Foster. 

After Maronne Suzuki and Bekah Valdez played a nice little one-two on the left wing, Suzuki was left free in the box. She attempted to slide a pass across the frame of goal but a Long Beach defender slid through and blocked the cross attempt. After the ball was cleared, the referee blew his whistle for a penalty, claiming the defender handled the ball in the box.

Foster stepped up to the penalty spot and blasted the shot into the top of the net to give the Toreros the lead.

The Beach equalized with 22 minutes gone, capitalizing off of a corner.

The fireworks came right before the half, with junior Jamie Goralski putting the Toreros ahead for good. 

With eight seconds left in the half, freshman Bella Piete headed a perfect through ball to Goralski who spotted the keeper off of her line and floated a high arc into the top corner. 

"Bella Piete, Michaela Foster, and Jamie Goralski" said head coach Louise Lieberman when asked for her woman of the match. 

"Mickey is just a rock-solid defender that really stepped up, she did a great job and gave us a lot of confidence," Lieberman said of Foster. 

"Bella in the midfield, the way she can keep the ball, calm us down, and be dangerous for us is a special thing," Lieberman said of Piete.

"Jamie stepped up and was a handful to mark, and she scored the game-winning goal," Lieberman said of Goralski.

The Toreros battled in a tough second half that saw two spectacular defensive plays as the clock was winding down. 

In the 83rd minute, Long Beach was producing a sustained attack in the San Diego half. After a cross was whipped in and bouncing dangerously in the box, freshman Mia Castillo slid in with a huge clearance to ease some of the pressure.

Two minutes later with Long Beach on a counterattack, junior goalkeeper Judith Sorribes came off her line to make a spectacular diving stop to stem the attack.

When the buzzer sounded, the San Diego bench flooded the field in a wonderful celebration.

The Toreros next play on Friday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m. (PT) against the crosstown rival San Diego State Aztecs. Tickets for the match are available at USDToreros.com.