LA JOLLA, Calif. - Freshman Hayley Johnson scored in the 13th minute with a perfectly placed shot just inside the left post and the No. 11 UC San Diego women's soccer team were able to hold on for a 1-0 home win against Cal Poly Pomona Sunday. The victory secures the Tritons a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament and sole possession of first place in the league's South Division.
Catching up to the rest of the CCAA in games played, the Tritons improves to 14-3 overall and 11-3 in the CCAA. The previous division leader, No. 18 Cal State L.A. (10-2-2 CCAA), is off until Friday when it travels to La Jolla to challenge UCSD in a matchup critical to the postseason positioning.
"Well obviously one of our main goals this season was to qualify for the CCAA Tournament," Tritons' head coach Brian McManus said. "We've done that so hopefully we can relax a bit and get back to playing the way we were early in the season. With a young team, it will be nice to take some of the pressure off now that we're going to the CCAAs."
The game winner from Johnson on Sunday was her second of the season. After Johnson took a corner kick from the right side, sophomore Shelby Wong fed the ball back to Johnson above the 18 area. Johnson ripped a high shot that bounced off the inside of the left post and rolled to the back of the net. The assist was the fourth of 2009 for Wong, the team leader in overall points (16).
The UCSD squad had a solid chance to extend its lead later in the first half when a series of one-timed passes led to freshman midfielder Jessica Wi controlling the ball inside the box on the left side. Wi fired a hard shot but CPP senior goalkeeper Nakisha Gutierrez made the stop.
The Broncos' best chance of the opening half took place in the 35th minute when sophomore forward Valerie Strawn, who ended up with a team-high three shots on the afternoon, fired an attempt toward the net. Tritons' sophomore netminder Kristin Armstrong made the initial stop but the ball caromed away. As sophomore forward Justine Barclay came charging in on the left side and lined up a possible shot, Armstrong pounced on the ball to prevent any opportunity.
After the Tritons took an 8-0 corner kick advantage into halftime, both squads settled into more a defensive struggle in the second period. CPP's best chance came in the 43rd minute when Strawn managed to control the ball at the top of the 18. Her shot came off her foot too straight though and Armstrong scopped the ball up for her third and final save of the match.
Armstrong earned her second consecutive shutout Sunday, both ending as 1-0 decisions. She now has six so far in 2009.
Sunday's victory for UCSD leads into what should be a dramatic final regular season weekend as the Tritons host the second- and third-best squads in the CCAA South Division, CSULA and Cal State Dominguez Hills respectively. UCSD and CSULA will play at 7 p.m. Friday while CSUDH travels into town for a 2:30 p.m. contest Sunday.
