LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego women's soccer team broke a scoreless tie in the 67th minute and went on to score twice more in the decisive second half to defeat visiting Humboldt State 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Triton Soccer Field. Sarah McTigue, Natasha Belak-Berger, and Laura Borenstein found the net to lead UCSD to its sixth victory in the last seven matches.

With a weekend sweep of the Lumberjacks and 12th-ranked Sonoma State on Friday night, the Tritons reclaim first place in the CCAA South Division standings at 6-2-0 against conference foes. UCSD's overall record now stands at a tidy 9-2-1. Humboldt State, which dropped its fourth contest in a row, falls to 6-6-1 (2-4-1 CCAA).

After scoring twice in the second half to erase a 1-0 deficit against the Seawolves on Friday, UCSD used another big second period to put away the Lumberjacks on Sunday. The Tritons forced the issue from the start of the period and, after several good chances, finally found a seam in the HSU defense for the 1-0 lead.

Junior midfielder Alexia Zatarain ran down a ball on the right side and crossed for McTigue, who fired past the Lumberjack goalkeeper to the upper right hand corner of the net for the eventual game-winner at the 66:09 mark. The goal was the freshman forward's second of the season and first since she also netted the difference-maker at Cal State Monterey Bay on September 14.

UCSD struck again roughly seven minutes later when Borenstein won a 50-50 ball and played it up to Belak-Berger. The senior forward dribbled past a sliding defender, drew the keeper out of position, and chipped the ball over her head for her team-leading eighth goal of 2008 and the 2-0 advantage.

Borenstein then added the Tritons' third goal in the 80th minute for the final 3-0 margin. Freshman defender Jenelle Rotenberg found her with a nice pass just outside the box on the right side, where the senior midfielder calmly fired the ball past the keeper to the near post to put the finishing touches on the big second half and the UCSD victory.

The score was Borenstein's third of the season and she now ranks fourth on the squad with seven points.

Amanda Esquivel and the Triton defense turned in an outstanding performance Sunday, limiting Humboldt State to just three shots for the game. UCSD recorded nine of its 14 shots in the second half and held a 6-3 advantage on corner kicks.

The Tritons have scored 17 of their 23 goals this season after halftime.

UCSD hits the road next week to take on Cal State Stanislaus Friday at 12:30 p.m., followed by a showdown with Chico State Sunday at 11:30 a.m.