The UC San Diego women's soccer team scored with only 3.4 seconds remaining in the second and final overtime for a thrilling 3-2 win over Humboldt State in its season opener Friday night at Triton Soccer Field. Junior
Alise Malley (Carlsbad, Calif.) netted the golden goal after the ball deflected off a hoard of people in front of the net on a corner kick from senior
Kristina De La Rosa (San Diego, Calif.) in the final seconds.
Despite out-shooting their opponent by a 23-5 margin in regulation play, the Tritons were forced into overtime before picking up their 13th season-opening victory in the last 14 years. The only blemish during that time was a 0-0 double overtime tie at Southern California College on September 2, 1998.
UCSD (1-0-0) got on the board early as junior Kelly Cochran (Westlake Village, Calif.) netted her 17th career goal at the 5:06 mark of the first half, sliding the ball past keeper Staci Self off a corner kick from De La Rosa. That goal was the only scoring for either team in the first stanza.
Humboldt State (1-1-0) came out in the second half and got the equalizer at the 52:39 mark as Katie Coppoletta scored an unassisted goal, sending the ball over the head of Triton freshman netminder Mia Shirley (Healdsburg, Calif.) from 25 yards out on the left side of the field. Her ball traveled across the box and landed in the far right corner for a beautiful score.
The Tritons answered back at the 66:12 mark as freshman Natasha Belak-Berger (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) netted her first career goal off a rebounded shot from junior Megan Dickey (Del Mar, Calif.).
HSU knotted the score at two apiece in the 77th minute when Elissa White took a Elizabeth Magdaleno corner kick and slid it past Shirley.
Neither team was able to score in the first overtime period as only two shots were taken, both of which came from the Tritons.
UCSD increased its pressure in the second overtime period, taking five shots before the sixth shot found its way in for the winner in the closing seconds.
The Tritons return to action on Thursday, September 1, hosting Western Oregon at 7 p.m. UCSD will then host Central Washington on September 8 at 7 p.m. and Seattle University on September 10 at 3 p.m.
