With an electric crowd taking over Triton Soccer Stadium in an exciting midweek matchup against Sacramento State (5-5-5, 1-3-3 Big West) on Wednesday, UC San Diego women’s soccer (7-3-5, 3-1-3 Big West) took advantage of the Hornets’ defensive mistakes to emerge victorious in an impressive 3-0 win.
The match opened with the Tritons claiming possession for many of the early minutes due to numerous missed passes and misalignment on the Hornets’ part.
A notable opportunity arose when the Tritons took advantage of such hiccups in the 14th minute, when redshirt freshman midfielder Olivia Shih scored her third goal of the season, beyond the reaching attempt of the Hornets’ goalkeeper. Sophomore defender Anya Lin earned her third assist of the season with Shih’s goal.
By the first break at the 27th minute mark, the Tritons had attempted six shots, with five on target. The Hornets had tried merely three shots by this point of the match.
The Tritons struck again in the 42nd minute when sophomore forward Molly Blom dribbled downfield and passed the ball to redshirt sophomore forward Ava Tibor to find the back of the net.
By halftime, it was clear that the Triton offense had the advantage, using the immense pressure that it was applying to Sacramento State. UCSD held a 59% possession rate with nine attempted shots through the first half. This strategy worked in its favor, as the team would come to understand that when the offense shows out, its defense is allowed to take a well-deserved step back.
Despite this advantage, head coach Kristin Jones noted an area for much-needed improvement before the second half kicked off.
“So at halftime, we talked about actually being more on the front foot, not sitting at all defensively — Making sure that if there was another goal in the game, that we were the team that was gonna score the next goal,” Jones said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “And I think what that did is just gave us a mentality to keep pushing and pushing and keep the ball kind of in the less dangerous areas.”
The Triton’s offensive effort in the second half began quicker than the last, with senior defender Jenna Grider and senior midfielder Chloe Yates orchestrating numerous shots early on.
Around the 50th minute, the Hornets received possession for what would be a timely drive, considering their previous short-lived attempts. They used this time to attack to the best of their ability but were unsuccessful thanks to redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Charlotte Wilfert and a well-rested Triton defense, which picked up three saves by the game’s end.
Following the Hornets’ drive, Triton junior midfielder Kiki Vostermans attempted a shot of her own that ricocheted off the goalpost and back into play. Blom gained control and passed the ball to Tibor, who headed it in to take a 3-0 lead.
Tibor shared that she knew where she needed to be at the exact moment the plays were unfolding and that these goals felt very well set up for her. She credited her teammates’ ability to work well together for her outstanding two-goal performance.
“I was kind of the only runner in the box, so I knew that I had to, like, be in a position so [Blom] could get me the ball,” Tibor said in a postgame interview. “You can’t miss those. So that one was easy and then the header one, it was, like, literally served on a platter again.”
UCSD boasted a 63% possession rate, 32 attempted shots and 19 shots on target in the shutout against the Hornets. Junior forward Natalie Oca led the team in attempts with five; Shih and Vostermans followed suit with four apiece in the victory.
The Tritons walked away with their heads held high, hoping to build on the confidence and growth from this conference matchup.
“What I would take away is that multiple people in multiple different positions can score,” Tibor said. “It feels good to know that we can score not just one goal. We don’t have to win a game just 1-0.”
The Tritons faced UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, when they tied 1-1. Looking ahead, they will confront Long Beach State on Wednesday, Oct. 21, while seeking to improve their craft before the regular-season finale on Oct. 31.
“We just want to really build on the positives right now and tighten up anything that we can control defensively,” Jones shared. “And I think we’ll be a hard team to beat for the rest of the season.”
