Amanda Anders Goal Celebration vs. Cal Poly
Thomas Christensen
3
Cal Poly CALPOL (0-0-1, 0-0-0)
3
San Diego USD (0-0-1, 0-0-0)
Cal Poly CALPOL
(0-0-1, 0-0-0)
3
Final
3
San Diego USD
(0-0-1, 0-0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cal Poly CALPOL 1 2 3
San Diego USD 1 2 3

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

USD Comes Back Three Times in Season-Opening Tie, Anders Scores Twice in First Career Game

SAN DIEGO – USD women's soccer battled to a 3-3 draw in it's season opener vs. Cal Poly Thursday night, led by freshman Amanda Anders' two goals and senior captain Josefine Schlichting' three points.
 
The Toreros trailed 1-0 11 minutes into the match, 2-1 six minutes into the second half and 3-2 with 10 minutes remaining but answered the call each time in a frenzy of a game that featured three goals in a span of four minutes at the end.
 
The San Marcos, Calif. native Anders – making her collegiate debut off the bench – became the first Torero to score a brace in her first career game since Michaela Dooley and current USD Assistant Coach Jackie Altschuld both did so in a win on Aug. 23, 2013. No San Diego player or freshman has scored a brace since Sara Evans on Oct. 15, 2021.
 
Anders' mother, Sherice (Bartling) Anders, who also played for the Toreros and eventually in the WUSA for the Boston Breakers, was in attendance for her daughter's historic debut on the grounds where she once starred.
 
The USD build-up proved lethal, combining for five assists on the three goals, the most since at least 2017 (incomplete records). Junior Tamia Graham provided two, including on the ultimate 82nd-minute with Schlichting who in addition to her 78th-minute goal, finished with three points on the night.  It's San Diego's first time scoring and team point in a season-opener since a 2021 win.
 
How it Happened
It wasn't the start that second-year head coach Greg LaPorte would have hoped for as Cal Poly's Jessie Halladay intercepted an attempted back-pass to the San Diego keeper Ilise Medrano, which she went around Medrano with and slotted away at a tight angle 11 minutes in.
 
USD would find the first equalizer as Anders came off the bench and scored her first career goal just seven minutes later in the 32nd minute, powering home a beautiful through-pass from Graham, initially played on by senior captain Kylie Smith, also credited with an assist.
 
Six minutes into the second-half, the Mustangs' Farra Franklin scored a headed corner to go back out front. In the 78th minute, Schlichting received the ball from reigning WCC All-Freshman selection Ella Callanan, cutting in and powering the ball low and hard from outside the box to the near post to even the score again.
 
The 2-2 tie would only last 73 seconds, however, as Cal Poly scored again on a corner with 10 minutes to go, Halladay's second goal of the game. That lead would only last so long, too; another two minutes and 25 seconds.
 
In the 82nd minute, with their backs against a potential defeat, the Toreros pressed on. Schlichting crossed the ball in from the left wing which Graham managed to head down where Anders sat, firing the ball into the net on a one-timer without hesitation.
 
Torero Tidbits
  • Anders is the first USD freshman to score a brace in her career collegiate game since both Michaela Dooley and Jackie Altschuld did so in the Aug. 23, 2013 season-opener, a 5-1 win over San Jose State … Altschuld is currently in her second season as an assistant coach for the Toreros
  • The five total USD assists is the most since at least Sept. 17, 2016 (prior match records incomplete)
  • Anders' brace is the first in a season-opener since Victoria Walker on Aug. 21, 2015 in a 2-1 win over NC State
  • It's the first Torero brace since Sara Evans did so, also as a freshman, in a 2-0 win over LMU on Oct. 15, 2021
  • It's the first point and goal in a season-opener for USD since a Aug. 19, 2021 2-1 win over Cal State Fullerton
  • Anders finished with four points on opening night … the most points by a Torero across all of 2024 was six (two players) and the points leader in 2023 had five
  • The captain Schlichting's three points is two shy of her 2024 total
  • Graham's two assists matches her 2024 sophomore campaign total and halves her point total from a year ago
 
Up Next
Las Toreras are back in action on the home confines of Torero Stadium in a week's time for a 7pm "Sunset Soccer" matchup with UC Irvine on Thursday, Aug. 21. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+. The two sides drew last season in Irvine, LaPorte's first career point as head coach. 
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