SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – Trailing 1-0, the No. 18 San Diego scored three unanswered goals in the second half to down the Liberty Flames 3-1 at Toreros Stadium Sunday evening.
Liberty struck for the match’s first goal late in the first half. Forward Samson Kpardeh split two San Diego defenders and buried a shot into the right corner to give the Flames a 1-0 advantage at halftime.
The host Toreros regrouped during the intermission and tied the contest on a goal by Noah James less than 10 minutes into the second half. San Diego forward Steven Ramirez then netted back-to-back goals less than two minutes apart shortly after the 60-minute mark to take the two-goal lead.
Liberty drops to 1-1 on the season. San Diego moves to 2-0 after entering the match off a 2-1 victory over No. 1 Washington on Thursday evening.
Scoring Summary
41′ – LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh (Assisted by Javan Ochieng)
54′ – USD – Noah James (Assisted by Jaxson Findlay and Mathias Bauer)
62′ – USD – Steven Ramirez (Assisted by Mathias Bauer)
64′ – USD – Steven Ramirez (Assisted by Iain Wagner and Luca Fava)
Key Stats & Notes
Host San Diego outshot Liberty, 16-8, in the match. The Toreros held a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal over the Flames.
San Diego held a 3-2 edge over Liberty in corner kicks.
Despite being outshot 7- 2 in the first half, Kpardeh gave Liberty a 1-0 advantage late in the half.
Kpardeh scored his second goal of the season, as he scored a goal in the Flames’ victory at San Diego State on Thursday.
Midfielder Javan Ochieng assisted on Kpardeh’s goal, his second assist of the season.
Liberty goalkeeper Dan Rose made four saves over the 90 minutes. USD goalkeeper Lucca Adams did not record a save.
The Flames and Toreros were meeting for the first time in their program history this evening.
Liberty went 1-1 on their San Diego road trip.
Next Up
Liberty will host the FGCU Eagles in its first home game of the season at Osborne Stadium. Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m.