SAN DIEGO — Although it took a loss on Wednesday night, San Diego women's soccer (4-4-6, 4-1-2 WCC) didn't end its matchup against Saint Mary's without a fight, scoring in the 87th minute before dropping a 2-1 decision to the Gaels (9-2-3, 4-1-2 WCC) at Torero Stadium.
Junior goalkeeper Ilise Medrano made her fifth start of the season, tying her second-highest mark in saves for the season with six, as she made an impressive penalty save early in the game to delay the Gaels from starting the scoreline.
After Saint Mary's scored two goals, San Diego responded by tacking on more shots, eventually breaking through at the 86:45 mark when sophomore defender Ella Callanan was played through on goal by junior defender Kate Sealy.
"We fought hard to get back in it after going down 2-0," head coach
Greg LaPorte said after the match. "Against a top team like that, the margins are so small. I'm proud of the response…the fight never dropped."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Inside the first 20 minutes of play, Saint Mary's strategy was to pressure. The Gaels kept the Toreros in their box forcing them to play quick until Callanan — who was the lone San Diego player to record shots on target on Wednesday — broke through twice on goal, forcing the SMC goalkeeper to make multiple kick saves.
Later in the first half, the Gaels were whistled for a penalty after Medrano dove to her right and made a flying save to keep it scoreless. SMC responded by scoring in the 38th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
San Diego flipped the script at the start of the second half, with multiple chances that included a goal that was eventually called offsides, and a curling left-footed shot by sophomore Marissa Morales that barely missed the top left corner.
Saint Mary's doubled its lead in the 62nd minute when a Gael dribbled from the sideline up into the eight-yard box to make the score 2-0.
San Diego refused to be shut out again, however, as from the 75th minute onward, it continued to pressure, with Callanan taking two shots from separate corner follow-throughs. She eventually broke into the scoresheet when Sealy brought the ball upfield through the middle then played a through ball between two Saint Mary's defenders. Callanan then dribbled close enough to score the first goal of the game for the Toreros after the one-on-one shot.
UP NEXT
The Toreros stay home and will be back in action on Saturday evening when they host LMU for Pop Culture Night at Torero Stadium. Kick-off against the Lions is set for 5 p.m.
