LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 8 UC San Diego women's soccer team topped Cal State Monterey Bay Sunday, 4-0, receiving scores from four different players as goalkeepers
Kristin Armstrong and
Kimberly Cushing combined for the team's first shutout of 2009.
Sophomores Shelby Wong and Sarah McTigue and freshmen Jessica Wi and Gabi Hernandez scored during the match as the Tritons outshot the Otters 12-9. Wong paced the squad with four points after assisting on Hernandez's score to conclude the day's scoring.
"They started to believe in themselves," UCSD head coach Brian McManus said. "They sat off a little bit on Friday against San Francisco State to see what the other team was doing but they got after it today. Monterey was playing the offside trap but we figured it out and scored at the right times.
The Tritons opened their scoring in the 25th minute on a play initiated by sophomore midfielder Anne Wethe. Above the top of the 18-yard area, Wethe lifted a pass over a CSUMB defender to a charging Wong. Wong placed a high shot over Otters' freshman goalkeeper Andrea Davis to give UCSD a 1-0 advantage.
Roughly five minutes later, freshman defender Hayley Johnson launched a left-footed cross to the left side of CSUMB's box. Wi received the pass, switched the ball to her right foot and placed a soft shot to the right of Davis as the Tritons pushed their lead to 2-0.
Taking a 2-0 advantage into halftime, UCSD resumed its scoring spree just 90 seconds into the second period. McTigue, approaching the Otters' defensive area, lost the ball momentarily but gained possession back off a deflection. She then was able to lift a shot above her defender and the goalkeeper into the top back corner of the net, extending the Triton lead to 3-0 and earning her third score of the season.
Hernandez capped off UCSD's afternoon of offense in the 54th minute. Wong made a nice cross to Hernandez, crossing into the center of the defense, who knocked a well-placed header to the left of the keeper.
In the net for the Tritons, Armstrong totaled two saves in her 70 minutes played while Cushing closed the match out with 20 minutes of action and one stop.
UCSD starts its five-match road trip with a Wednesday contest against Cal State East Bay at 12:30 p.m. From there, the Tritons next visit Turlock, Chico, Pomona and San Bernardino.
