LA JOLLA, Calif. ? After 110 minutes played Wednesday night, the No. 4 UC San Diego women's soccer team ended up with a 0-0 draw against Cal State San Marcos. The two squads combined for 45 shots.
Senior goalkeeper Jessica McGovern (Reseda, Calif.) totaled a career-high 10 saves on the evening for the Tritons (2-0-1) while posting her 22nd career shutout. The CSUSM attack put pressure on McGovern through the entire match and despite holding a 6-1 shots on goal advantage during the final 65 minutes of play, the Cougars (2-0-2) could not break through for a score.
“We need to be a lot more physical,” UCSD head coach Brian McManus said. “They are just being too nice out there.”
Less than two minutes into the first half, freshman midfielder Lindsay Mills (Valencia, Calif.) dribbled the ball down the right side of the field and found junior Alexia Zatarain (Canyon Country, Calif.) in the middle with a crossing ball. Zatarain fired a shot to the left side of the net but the CSUSM goalkeeper Kaycee Gunion made a diving stop to fend away what turned out to be one of the best UCSD chances of the period.
McGovern demonstrated her own shot-stopping ability in the 37th minute when Cougar forward Taylor Schurman broke free from the defense and bent a curling line drive to the right of the UCSD netminder. McGovern threw both hands in the ball's path and redirected the blast to the right and out of danger. Schurman and teammate Taylor Ziencina ended the match with three shots on goal each.
Another tremendous chance for the Tritons came roughly 14 minutes into the second half, thanks in part to the ball thievery of senior forward Natasha Belak-Berger (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). With a crowd along the right side of the line, Belak-Berger managed to steal the ball away from CSUSM and cross it in for freshman midfielder Shelby Wong (Danville, Calif.), whose shot in the goalmouth was blocked away by a Cougar defender sliding in at the right time.
As expected, both squads scrambled to score in the final minute of regulation. A through ball from Belak-Berger landed at the feet of Rachel Baugh (Newport Beach, Calif.) but Gunion made another fine save to squash the opportunity with 43 seconds remaining. Less than 20 seconds later, the CSUSM offense turned the other way and got a last shot on goal against McGovern before the game moved into extra time.
Early on in the first overtime a corner kick from the Cougars slipped through the box, bouncing off a few players but eventually out of trouble. Midway through the period, the two squads took turns lifting shots just high of the opposition's net. Only one shot was taken during the second overtime as UCSD and CSUSM failed to come up with a score at the end of the four periods.
The Tritons, ranked No. 4 in the Division II NSCAA/adidas coaches poll released on Tuesday after receiving votes outside the top 25 during the first week of the season, continue their non-conference schedule with a 7 p.m. match on Saturday against Texas A&M Commerce. The Lions are currently 2-0 and will face Cal State L.A. on Thursday before travelling to La Jolla.
