UCSD Tritons Thread

This thread is dedicated to the team that has done something that no other NCAA team has done in any sport: winning back to back titles while moving up from one division to the next! And they did it without any athletic scholarships! All hail Coach Brian McManus and his incredible team!

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/wsocsched.html

There are only two teams on the schedule that are not in the CCAA conference, which was by far the toughest conference in Division II women's soccer. There are only 16 opponents listed, but then the team would have to play as many as 4 more games before reaching the championship game.

 

More Info...

For those who have not been there, here is a map and directions to the UCSD athletic complex, including Triton Stadium:

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/campusdirections.html

And here is a map that isn't in color, but shows more of the surrounding area:

http://sportsfac.ucsd.edu/pdf/MapRIMAC.field.pdf

 

Season Opening Game Info [R]

Tusculum College is the first of only two non-conference opponents that UCSD will face during the regular season. The Pioneers ended up 33rd in the Albin-Jones ratings, with a 17-2-2 record, and one of those losses was to 8th ranked Univ of North Florida. They are ranked first in preseason polls for the South Atlantic Conference and have 8 players on the preseason all-star team. Here is a link to information on the team, who are on an ambitious early season schedule that includes the 1st and 2nd ranked teams in the nation!

http://www.tusculum.edu/athletics/soccer_women/index.html

 

02 sept game versus the Pioneers [R]

A determined Tusculum College gave UCSD all they could handle before going down to defeat 1-0, on a goal in the 71st minute by Kristin Jones.

The game started at 7pm, and that meant that the temperatures had cooled down about 10 degrees from the high 80s earlier in the day. The Tritons began the new season wearing their home all white kit, along with 6 new faces in the starting lineup – a necessity because of the loss of that many seniors off last years championship team.

The visitors were garbed in orange with white trim, and were returning to the mainland after a 3-0 win over Western Oregon in Hawaii. Amber Ferchaud had scored all the goals, on individual assists from 3 different players, two of those from two of the six players that came off the bench. There were a lot of supporters with the team, as they had been saving money the past few years to make the trip to Hawaii and San Diego. The team had arrived in Los Angeles Monday morning and the supporters traveled down from there by rented vans. It was obvious, from talking to some of the supporters, that they are very proud of their team, and rightly so. They cheered their team on throughout the game, but not being obnoxious about it (unlike some UC Santa Barbara supporters at the USD game the day before.) Both teams played very clean games – the ref called a number of what Chick Hearn would have called ‘ticky-tack’ fouls (especially against UCSD), maybe just to let the players know that he was out there?

Opening lineups were:

UCSD
Jones – Treankler – Harrelson
Goker – Mendoza – Carlson – Conahan
Wensel – Szafraniec – Jacobs
Poma

Tusculum
Ferchaud – Christie –
Barron – Henderson – Turner – Green
Knudsen – Fleisser – Lewis – Outen
Murphy

UCSD changed their formation from last years 4-3-3. They are still a well coached and disciplined team, and were able to keep possession of the ball for at least 70% of the time, but miss some of the veteran play of last year. They do not appear to be quite as fast overall and really miss Alfredson’s heading ability on free kicks and corner kicks (they had 13 ck’s!). With better finishing on those and their semi-breakaways (sounds like the Spirit ) they could have scored as many as 5 more goals. Maybe part of the problem was this was their first game of the season, against a very good team that already had a game under their belt. The Tritons have 16 field players, 13 of which got into the game.

Tusculum is very athletic and was definitely faster than UCSD. That helped their defense recover from a number of mistakes in positioning and decision making. The forwards’ speed allowed them to keep up constant pressure on the Tritons’ backline and midfielders. The Pioneers’ midfield had a difficult time coping with the play of their counterparts. Their keeper was very good, making a number of quality saves and cutting off a number of crosses and corner kicks, and had no chance on the one goal scored. I was also impressed by defender Elaine Green. She was able to out-run Triton forwards for long balls and to stop them from breaking away with the ball. I’m not sure if their regular style of play is to have counter-attacks, but if not, then they were forced into that by the way the Tritons controlled things. Their coach used a lot of substitutes. By my count, there were 11 occasions where from 1 to 4 players were put into the game. Their lineup was the same as they used in Hawaii. They had 29 field players on their roster and used 17 of those – the school has an enrollment of 1794. Their play might not have been as good as usual because of nervousness playing the #1 team and because of jet-lag from their trip.

 

U-T article on team's only senior

The local newspaper didn't post this on their internet site, so I'm keying it in now...

***

Instant Replay?
Lauren Jacobs, now a senior, will try to help UCSD win fourth straight NCAA title.
By Glae Thien, special to the Union Tribune

Because she was returning from a foot injury that required surgery, Lauren Jacobs could have sat out the women’s soccer season at UCSD a year ago.

In coming back, Jacobs realized that she would spend much of the time on the bench. But then again, she would be with her teammates in the quest for the school’s third straight NCAA championship and the second since moving up to Division II.

So the choice was easy.

“I’m really close to the girls who graduated last year. It was tough not actually be able to be on the field with them, but I took more the role of support,” Jacobs said. “There weren’t mixed feelings on the bench. Rather, there was continuity between all the players – that we were all going for the same thing.”

Indeed, the Tritons got what they wanted. They won another NCAA crown with a final victory over Christian Brothers on their own field.

Jacobs now enters her senior season with the chance to play on four NCAA championship teams in four years.

It also happens that she’s the only senior on the squad. Gone are six starters and seven letter winners. Those facts say the Tritons face a greater challenge defending their title, but at the same time, a winning tradition also speaks.

“I have a positive outlook on it,” Jacobs said. “If we work hard and want it, there’s no reason why we can’t do it again. Like every year, it’s going to be a struggle. It’s not going to be a little walk in the park. Still, we’ve been there. We know the situation. If we stick with it and have the right attitude, it will be a good year.”

The Tritons, who opened the season Monday with a 1-0 victory over Tusculum, Tenn., were even ranked No. 1 in the national coaches preseason poll.

UCSD coach Brian McManus accepts the ranking as a tribute to the school’s reputation. But other than that, he ignores it.

“The rankings mean absolutely nothing, not even during the year,” McManus aid. “It’s where you are at the end of the year. That’s what counts.”

McManus has directed the Tritons to eight national titles, with an overall record of 258-29-18 over 15 years, entering this season. Their success has continued in Division II even though they don’t offer scholarships, in contrast to most of their opponents.

Count on Jacobs to do her part again this season.

“She’s never been a star player for us. She’s always been a workmanlike player,” McManus said. “Last season, she mostly came off the bench, but when she did, she could play anywhere – midfield or forward – and do a great job..”

Jacobs came to UCSD as a midfielder from Valencia High in Placentia, where she closed out her prep career with honors from the CIF-Southern Division as the Defensive Player of the Year.

The year she arrived, the Tritons were coming off first round elimination in the Division III playoffs. It was then that Jacobs developed her kinship with that season’s sophomores, who would be the seniors on last year’s team.

So started the Triton’s current string of championships.

Into this season, it’s still being determined just what role Jacobs will have, but she says she will gladly be a utility player again.

“There are different roles on the team and they are all needed,” Jacobs said. “If that’s my role and it’s needed, then that’s fine.”

As was the case last season, she wouldn’t miss it.

***
This article was accompanied by short capsules on SDSU, USD, and UCSD by Thien. Here is what said about the Tritons:

Coach: Brian McManus (16th year)
Last season: 21-2 overall, 12-2 in CCAA, Div. II champion
Outlook: All-America midfielder Megan Mendoza heads a strong junior class that includes standouts Kristin Jones, Christine Wensel, and Kami Poma. Mendoza had 8 goals and 7 assists last season. Jones, who received all-conference honors, led the team a forward with 9 goals and 7 assists. Wensel added 7 assists while anchoring the defense in front of Poma in goal. Among the leading newcomers are freshman defender Heather Szafraniec, a graduate of Scripps Ranch High, and sophomore midfielder Shannon Harrelson, a transfer from the University of Arizona.

 

Tritons post 2nd shutout

Kristen Conahan scored at the 5:18 mark of the first half (off an assist by Kristin Jones) and Kami Poma made that hold up as she was able to turn aside all 6 shots on goal by the host Cal State University San Bernardino Coyotes. Here is a link to the box score for the game.

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/02wsoc02.htm

 

Cal Poly Pomona game [R]

I was unable to attend the game tonight because I was up at the Rose Bowl for the Spirit-Charge game. The NSCAA doesn't have the results of the game listed yet, but according to the results page at the UCSD website, the Tritons defeated the visitors 2-1.

Tia Rudolph scored first for CPP, on an assist from Michelle McConnell in the 50th minute. UCSD countered with goals from Britni Wenck (her 1st, on assists from Kristin Jones and Erica Porter) and Megan Mendoza (also her 1st, unassisted.)

The stats look a bit weird. The home team was credited with 10 shots, but only 2 shots on goal (the ones that scored.)

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/02wsoc03.htm

 

Triton "Stadium" is actually a field that gets used for soccer and baseball. On the west side of the field there are concrete bleachers that might hold as many as 1500 people (I think the attendance announced during the championship games last year was right around that...) Some of bleacher levels are broad enough that you can put a lawn chair on it.

Their website has one picture from the semi-final game that shows the bleachers jam-packed. But most season- game 'crowds' are in the 250-300 range.

They do not charge anything (or request donations) during the season. NCAA made them charge something during those championship games...

 

9-17-02 game versus Grand Canyon

The Tritons played a game Grand Canyon University team that was overmatched in talent and numbers. This was the first time since UCSD played Alliant University at the start of last season that they actually had more players suited up than their opponents. The Antelopes only had 2 field substitutes and their roster actually doesn’t list any players as being forwards. In fact, their best looking field player, Sydnee Parkinson, is listed as a defender but she was the one player who looked dangerous during the game – and she never got any shots off. She was fast enough, though, to outrun Triton defenders and dribble balls into the box near the end line before being shut down because she got no support from her teammates.

Coach McManus started what looked like his normal lineup, but he did a lot of early substituting – giving his sophomores and freshmen a lot of playing time that should enable them to help the team more later in the year. GCU seemed to use a 3-5-2 formation that at times looked more like a 4-6-0. It appeared that they were trying to clog up the middle and early on they did keep the Tritons from taking any shots. The home team did keep control of the ball, though, making a lot of crisp passes and when they did lose the ball they got it back very quickly.

But by the 15th minute UCSD seemed to have things figured out and started to get a number of corner kicks and centering passes into the box that either were just missed by a head or foot of a Triton, or were punched out/caught by the visitor’s keeper, Jolene Gagnon. She did a good job during the game – especially considering her 5’5’ height. When the home team did get their first goal (at 25:03), it wasn’t her fault. A long pass that headed into the left corner of the box developed into a foot race between her and Kristin Jones. Jonesy got to the ball a split second ahead and tipped it to the outside. She was able to corral it and chipped it over three defenders and into the top third of the goal.

In the next 15 minutes UCSD kept up the pressure. On their 4th corner, it was hit toward the near post by Christine Wensel, and Jones flicked it on, just over the top of the bar. A bit later Molly Carlson came up from her defensive position and hit a ball from the top of the box that also skimmed the cross bar (by the end of the game, 4 balls had hit that bar.) In the 40th minute a picture-perfect series resulted in the goal that made the score 2-0. Lauren Jacobs and Kristen Jones did 2 give-and-go’s that saw Jones end up centering the ball into the middle (just out of the grasp of the diving keeper), where Lindsey Treankler headed it into the open goal.

***

The 2nd half saw 3rd string keeper Jamie Lautenschleger take over in the UCSD goal. Within the first 30 seconds, she saw the really dangerous situation of the game develop when a free kick given to GCU was hit into the box. It bounced around for about 5 seconds, looking like a pinball kicking off bumpers, before a defender finally kicked it out to midfield. Right after that, Lindsey got the ball forward to Jackie Shaffer (who wasn’t on the roster for the first home game) and Jackie got the ball back to her. Lindsey lofted the ball into the middle from the corner and Jonesy’s header hit the crossbar, bounced to the middle of the box, and Kristen Conahan miss-kicked it over the top.

Except for a left-footed shot by Jones that just missed hitting the left post, there weren’t any more true scoring opportunities until the start of the 15th minute – and it happened when Amy Goker took a lofting shot from about 30 yards that hit the crossbar and was then headed in by Treankler for her second goal of the game – and that was when someone started singing “Happy Birthday” to her…

After that action in the game slowed down a bit, but there were 5 or 6 more near misses on goals by the Tritons. Goker, Kristina de la Rosa, Treankler, Treankler again, Christine Kwon, and Shaffer all had shots or headers that hit the post, crossbar, or were caught on diving grabs by the keeper Gagnon.

The scoreboard didn’t list statistics, so I do not know how many shots were taken during the game, but I do know that UCSD took at least 11 corner kicks during the game. The Antelopes were a game team and deserve a lot of credit for the effort that they put out – especially in the second half, when their lack of extra players after chasing the Tritons around all the time should have had them dragging. And their keeper deserves praise for keeping what could have been a rout a respectable game.

 

I meant football, not baseball. It's also used by the students for other sports...

 

Sonoma State Game

Although they dominated control of the ball and had all the best chances to score, UCSD had a difficult time defeating Sonoma State last night. In fact, the Seawolves actually took the lead in the 71st minute when Amanda Harris dribbled through 2 Triton defenders and passed across the box – the ball bounced around and came free to Adriana Diaz, who was able to put her short range shot into the left quarter of the goal for the 1-0 lead.

Of the 10 shots that the visitors got off during the game, only 3 were on goal and 2 of those were long lofting shots that Kami Poma was able to camp under. In contrast, the home team had double the shots and triple the shots on goal, with several other shots just clearing the crossbar or easing wide of the posts. And UCSD players uncharacteristically miss-fired on some good opportunities, most of them created by Kristen Conahan. SSU keeper Kellie Campbell made some very good saves, and on 2 occasions her defenders were able to kick balls off the goal line when she was beaten by headers.

Less than a minute after the goal, the home team countered with one of their own. A through pass was made in front of Amy Goker, with Campbell coming out of her net to dive to her left in an attempt to grab the ball before Amy could make her first touch – but she could only get her fingertips on it, and Amy was able get control of it and loft a shot that 3 defenders could not get in front of.

The Tritons then started an assault on the Seawolves’ goal. First, Campbell made a sliding save on a UCSD shot, then 20 seconds later she stopped a hard shot from Kristin Jones (who was one of those who had flubbed a shot earlier). Another 30 seconds saw Molly Carlson’s shot from the top of the box skim the crossbar.

UCSD finally broke through in the 83rd minute when Jones beat 2 defenders, cut into the right side of the box and hammered a shot that Campbell could only deflect – and freshman Lindsey Treankler was right in front of the net to hit the rebound in for a 2-1 lead. It was her 3rd goal in 2 games, as she had scored 2 on her birthday 3 days before.

The visitors were awarded 2 free kicks in the waning minutes that ended up in dangerous looking play. On the first, the kick floated 4 yards away from the goal – Poma didn’t come out for it and a SSU player headed it wide. The second saw the ball drop in the box , where it bounced around and was kicked around for several seconds before it was cleared out. So the home fans were only able to sigh with relief when the final whistle came.

The two players on SSU that impressed me were Sara Wehrenberg and Amanda Harris (who didn’t start.) The team as a whole was faster than UCSD, plays good positional defense and gets back behind the ball very quickly, even though they were using a 3-4-3. Their back line was shaky on balls lofted in the air and on clearances, but in this game the UCSD forwards and midfielders didn’t make them pay for it because they flubbed shots.

***

There was a larger than average crowd at the game and the visitors seemed to have about 100 supporters there – and they let the ref know when they thought their team had been wronged!

Although the visiting team seemed to get most of the calls, neither team was pleased with the officiating in this game. Sandra Belmont was inconsistent in her calls and one of the two assistants seemed to have a difficult time with applying the offside rule.

SSU was issued a yellow card in the 61st minute. It went to someone on their bench, I assume to coach Luke Oberkirch. A Seawolves player was called for a foul, and when UCSD tried to take the free kick at the midfield stripe one of the SSU players stepped in front of her and turned her back on the ball only 5 yards away. The ball hit her in the back and as the ref called for a re-start apparently someone on the bench said something to her.

It won’t show up in the box score, but the visitors had an apparent goal waved off just 4 minutes into the second half. A free kick (which the home crowd thought should not have been awarded) went into the box, and the ball bounced around and then into the net. Nothing was announced, so I’m not sure if they were called for shoving the keeper down to the ground in the net, or for an offside…

 

San Francisco State game

The Tritons defeated the Gators 2-0 in a hard fought game. UCSD dominated the first half but were only able to score once. The visitors regrouped at the break and were able to reclaim a share of the play, but when all was said and done they only got real chances to score off one of their corner kicks and one of their free kicks. Neither resulted in a real shot on goal. Their actual shots on goal were all easy saves for Kami Poma.

SFS's players were faster and taller, but do not yet have the skills or the discipline that the UCSD team displays. The two players on the Gators that impressed me the most were Alanna Bailey and Felice Archbold. Allana gave the Triton defenders problems with her speed, height, and strength; and Felice was able to use those same attributes to, for the most part, hold Kristin Jones in check.

Goals by the home team came from Shannon Harrelson, at the 18:06 mark, and by Lindsey Treankler (her 4th in 3 games) at 77:02 mark.

 

Game at Cal State Los Angeles

The Tritons finally had their tightrope act of the past few weeks fail them - as they were upset 2-1 by the home team. They outshot them 18-10 and had a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks and forced the CSLA keeper to make 10 saves to the 3 required of their own. Apparently the team again showed a lack of a finishing touch by it's forwards and attacking midfielders.

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/02wsoc07.htm

 

CS Dominguez Hills game 9-29-02

The Tritons got back on their tightrope and eked out a overtime 2-1 win over the Toros, again giving up the first goal and making a comeback. UCSD goals were by Conahan and Goker, each their 2nd of the year.

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/02wsoc08.htm

 

Chico State in Upset of UCSD

from the Chico State website:

***

Wildcats beat ranked UC San Diego

The Chico State women's soccer team shutout two-time defending national champion UC San Diego, 2-0, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest in front of 504 fans at University Soccer Stadium. UC San Diego entered the game as the third-ranked team in the nation.

It is the first time the Wildcats (7-3-1, 3-2-1 CCAA) have beaten the Tritons (7-2-0, 6-2-0 CCAA) since UC San Diego joined the CCAA in 2000.

Chico State made its first shot of the game count in the 25th minute when Amy Swanson sent a long cross in front of the goal from the left side and Janelle Raaff put a hard strike on the ball to land it in the upper-right corner for her third goal of the season.

Swanson added the insurance goal in the second half when on a breakaway she was taken down in the box by a Triton defender but got up to drill the penalty kick in the right side of the net. Swanson leads the team with seven goals.

Chico keeper Angela Orr recorded her fifth shutout of the season recording six saves on the Triton's seven total shots. UC San Diego created several opportunities, including eight corner kicks to Chico's three, but couldn't convert.

 

UC Davis game

UCSD played yet another game on the road, this time at UC Davis. The Tritons were able to come away with a 1-0 win, even though they were out-shot 18 to 6 (Kami Poma only had to make 4 saves, though.) Nothing up yet at the UCSD website, but the Aggies already have an account up.

http://ucdavisaggies.ocsn.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/100602aaa.html

 

Stanislaus game

UCSD was able to defeat CSU Stanislaus, 2-1, this past Friday. I’m surprised that the Warriors have such a poor conference record, as in the first half they gave the Tritons all they could handle. They were faster, taller, and stronger than the home team, and was able to keep UCSD from getting any good chances on goal – but weren’t able to get any good shots themselves in the first half. They did have one long low shot carom off the right post.

CSUS’s best chances to score came off of free kicks, corner kicks, and long balls into the middle of the box – they had one goal called back on a long ball when 2 of their players ran into Kami Poma, knocking her down while she had the ball, and then kicking it into the net.

The second half saw the Tritons come out and play much better than the first half. I didn’t see any tactical changes, but the home team seemed to move better, and the visitors didn’t do as good a job of keeping the UCSD players from getting the ball in better positions.

UCSD was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the 56th minute when a long hard shot right at the Warrior keeper knocked her back and got away from her. Shannon Harrelson was able to get to the ball first and put it into the open net.

Less than 4 minutes after that, CSUS got a corner kick that bounced around in the box for a number of seconds, and ended up coming free to a Warrior, who kicked the ball at the net. Poma dived to the side and got a hand on it, but it dribbled off to her left side and crossed the line just before a defender cleared it. The announced scorer, unassisted, was their #23 – but the final box score the next day credited #9 with the goal.

They didn’t have long to celebrate, as it took less than 90 seconds for the Tritons to regain the lead. Harrelson beat 2 defenders along the left side and then got to the left box edge before she passed it towards Amy Goker in the middle of the box. Amy surprised the defense by flicking the ball on with her left foot to Kristen Conahan, who was in the right side of the box. Kristen was wide open and made sure that she buried her shot.

The rest of the game was fairly quiet, with UCSD just missing getting into position for some good shots and the Warriors not being able to do even that well

 

CSU Bakersfield game 13 October

The Roadrunners put up a good fight for most of this game this evening, but ended up losing to the Tritons by a 4-0 score. The game started at 7pm and like the last one was played in cool and cloudy conditions. But there was no wind this time. The starters and line up was the same as on Friday:

Goker – Jones – Harrelson
Conahan – Mendoza – Schopbach
Wensel – Szafraniec – Carlson – Jacobs
Poma

UCSD only scored once in the 1st half, off a corner kick by Shannon Harrelson. Her kick dropped into the middle of the box and bounced up, with Kristen Conahan getting to the ball first and heading it into the net. The second score didn’t come until the 67th minute – a hand ball was called in the box and Harrelson calmly slotted the penalty kick into the lower right corner of the goal.

Conahan got another goal just 4 minutes later – she received a pass about 15 yards outside the box from Lauren Jacobs and hit a shot that just dropped over the keepers hands and under the bar. At this point, the home team put in a lot of subs, including a new keeper. About 20 seconds after play started again, Christine Kwan drove down the left side with the ball and hit a sharp cross into the box, where Harrelson was able to hit a hard header that gave the keeper no chance to react.

The last 20 minutes of the game saw a lot of back and forth play, with the many Triton subs coming close to making connections on headers and volleys of crosses. Bakersfield had one last chance to score with 3 seconds left, but replacement keeper Jamie Lautenschleger was able to make a diving stop to her left, earning cheers from the home crowd for preserving the shutout.

 

Guardian article

This is the first on-line article that I've seen in some time about the team. The Guardian is the official UCSD student newspaper. I tried to post the direct link to the article, since it includes a picture of Harrelson scoring the first goal - but that link generates an error message.

http://www.collegesports.com/sports/w-soccer/uwire/101402abu.html

 

Humboldt State game 19 Oct 2002

The Tritons were able to defeat a game Lumberjack team 2-0. The crowd started out very small but before the end of the first half it had swelled to over 1,000 – by far the largest of the year. I’m sure that it was because this was home coming week. The weather certainly didn’t help, as it was overcast and in the low 60s.

I noticed two things before the game started. First, Shannon MacMillan walked right past me (I always try to sit on the aisle up at the top of the bleachers) on her way out to the parking lot; and second, Kristin Jones wasn’t even on the UCSD bench. That caused coach McManus to revise his lineup and formation a bit:

Goker – Treankler – Harrelson
Conahan – Mendoza – Schopbach - Jacobs
Wensel – Szafraniec – Carlson
Poma

The ‘Jacks starting line up was a bit of an oddity – there were two 5’11 players, one 5’9’, one 5’8, and another 5’7. But their senior goalkeeper, Mariah Talbott, is only 5’3! She certainly knows how to play the game, but, just like in last year’s game, it cost her… HSU was the second and last non-conference foe that the home team will have faced during the regular season. They went all-out during the game, and kept constant pressure on the Tritons. But they just were not able to truly dent the UCSD defense – they got off no shots in the first half and were charitably credited with 5 for the game (and only 1 of those required a ‘save.’) Their coach did a lot of substituting throughout the game and that allowed his team to keep up the relentless pressure that might have made a less confidant team make mistakes.

The home team got 6 corner kicks in the first 16 minutes and on the second of those they scored when Shannon Harrelson’s in-swinger curved right into the goal. Talbott was screened out on the kick and wasn’t able to react fast enough and only got her fingertips on the ball as it went past – a case where someone taller might have been able to do better. But she was able to catch or punch out most of the other corners. Her teammates didn’t really do that much on defensive corners during the game – not good when you consider the great height advantage that they had over the Tritons.

UCSD missed a few opportunities to score during the first half. In the 39th minute, Talbott was able to make a diving save to her left and then recovered fast enough to stop a fairly weak point-blank shot by Megan Mendoza. Less than 3 minutes later, though, she wasn’t able to do anything about the next shot. Christine Wensel hit in one of her long left footed crosses, and Kristen Conahan directed in a volley shot into the net from 20 yards out.

The second half was sort of an anti-climax. Coach McManus put Jamie Lautenschleger in between the posts to give started Kami Poma a break, and gave a lot of substitutes more than their normal amount of playing time. It’s too bad that he didn’t decide to give Harrelson the rest of the day off – only 4 minutes into the second half she was kicked in the back of the leg while she was in the HSU box and she went down like a shot. It took over a minute for the ref to stop play, and then another couple of minutes before she should be helped off the field. She never returned. Here are the final stats:

Shots: UC-19, HS-5. Saves: UC-1, HS-7. Fouls: UC-8, HS-6. Corners: UC-9, HS-2.

Note: The Tritons have one home game left, next Saturday. Then they have two road games (at Pomona and Grand Canyon) before the CCAA playoffs on 07-10 November.

 

CS San Bernardino game 10-26-02

Yesterday afternoon UCSD defeated Cal State San Bernardino 3-0 on a rain soaked field (not something that you see in San Diego all that often the past few years). The Tritons got an early goal from Megan Mendoza and two later goals from substitute Christine Kwon, and could have had several others.

The Coyotes were a fast, tall, and very physical team that was very good on headers. They also did some nice passing but were never able to breach the home team’s back line – there was only one real chance to score and the forward involved in that play miss-hit a shot. I was impressed by Michelle Lopez’s play. She did a very good job of holding position, receiving balls with her back to the goal, and dishing off passes.

Unfortunately, their defense left a lot to be desired, both in team and individual skills. If the referee had called the game consistently, he would have had to hand out 3 times the yellow cards that he did issue to the visitors (2 were issued to them in the 1st half, none in the 2nd) – and call at least twice as many fouls. They were getting beat a lot in the midfield and had to continually resort to shoulder, shirt, and arm pulling – or to out-right tripping. They also were fond of kicking the back of players’ calves and knees, and shoving players from behind. This was the first division II game that I had been to where I was genuinely afraid that someone was going to get hurt because the referee wasn’t doing his job.

By the last 15 minutes of the game, UCSD coach McManus had seen enough and got himself a yellow card for yelling at the referee after the umpteenth time he refused to make a call on a trip by one of the Coyote midfielders. He took out a lot of his starters early in the second half – both, I’m sure, to give his substitutes more experience and to keep his starting forwards and midfielders from suffering any more.

It was ‘Senior Night’ at UCSD, and at halftime a presentation was made. Unlike last year (when there were 7 seniors) there was only one – Lauren Jacobs.

 

Away game against Pomona

The Tritons and Broncos continued their series of tough games, this one ending in a 1-1 tie. Cal Poly outshot the visitors 16-3, had a 9-3 edge on shots on goal. This made the sixth time in two years that these two teams have clashed - and they will probably meet again in the CCAA playoffs. Only one of those games was settled by more than one goal, and that was a 2-0 win by UCSD...

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/02wsoc15.htm

 

Grand Canyon away game

The Tritons win 2-0, on goals by substitutes Britni Wenck and Kristina de la Rosa.

http://athletics.ucsd.edu/wsocfol/02wsoc16.htm