LA JOLLA, Calif. - They weren't ready for it to be over. They simply were not.
Down 2-0 in the 35th minute to a team that had surrendered just five goals all year, the sixth-ranked University of California San Diego women's soccer team dug deep to keep the season alive for its five seniors, as the Tritons turned back upstart city rival Point Loma, 3-2, in a second-round match of the 2018 NCAA Division II Championship. The game was played in front of a raucous crowd of 451 on a spectacular November Saturday at Triton Soccer Stadium, with both sides receiving deserved ovations following the final whistle.
Top-seeded California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season and tournament champion UC San Diego improved to 18-2-1 overall with the victory, and finished a perfect 11-0 at home. Point Loma, the West's No. 4 seed, ended its incredible campaign at 16-2-1 as the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) champion. The Sea Lions had rattled off a remarkable 17-game unbeaten streak (16-0-1) after a season-opening home defeat in double overtime to Western Washington, 2-1, back on Aug. 30, and gave up multiple goals for just the first time since.
After an even first half-hour, Point Loma stunned the home team and its fans with back-to-back tallies within just 114 seconds of each other. At 32:11, junior forward Abbey Teagle took a pass from Bella Diaz and sent what initially may have looked like a right-sided cross. From just outside the penalty area on the right diagonal, however, her kick lofted over senior Triton goalkeeper Angelica Ramos and found the left netting for her third goal of 2018. Diaz picked up the assist.
Moments later at 34:05, Ashlee Smith's header made it 2-0. Abbi Swanson played Diaz down the right flank, and Smith got on the end of her cross for her third tally of the year. Ramos actually got a fingertip to it, and the ball then even contacted the inside of the right post, before advancing over the goal line.
PacWest Player and Newcomer of the Year Julia Glaser nearly put the whole thing to bed before UC San Diego could begin to mount its fightback, but her right-footed shot from the top of the box after a two-on-one with Teagle, was parried away by Ramos in the 39th minute to keep the Tritons alive.
Still, had the score line indicated 2-0 at the halftime interval, things could very well have been different, but to their immense credit, UC San Diego's second unit ignited an improbable rally. In the 40th minute, just about 36 seconds after the Glaser miss, true freshman winger Ashlynn Kolarik crossed from the left for sophomore forward Mia Bonifazi. The native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., got to the ball just in front of freshman goalie Emma Hinson to nudge it by her with her first touch. At a narrow angle on the left diagonal, she then pulled the ball back into space to free her from the reach of a Sea Lion defender who was on the ground in front of her, and calmly lifted her right-footed shot into the empty net to pull her side up from the doldrums, and within a single goal at 2-1. It was Bonifazi's third of the year, all of them big, with the first two game deciders. Kolarik was credited with her second assist.
Following a rousing halftime talk by coach Kristin Jones and the Triton staff, UC San Diego refused to lose in the second period.
The Tritons pulled even at 57:19. Fourth-year senior striker Megumi Barber (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS) earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, slightly toward the left side. She eventually got behind the ball, and made absolutely no mistake with her right-footed effort from 20 yards, giving Hinson no chance to her left side, and the rookie goalie's right. It was Barber's career-best eighth, most of them of the banger-from-distance variety, and third in three postseason contests.
At exactly 79:00, came what proved to be the winner, with a bit of fortune. Sophomore central midfielder Caitlin McCarthy (Carlsbad/Carlsbad HS) tried to play ahead, but her pass was deflected right back to her. The local product then hit a hopeful left-footer from about 20 yards as well around the left diagonal. The shot at the outset did not appear to be troubling for Hinson, but unfortunately for the PacWest Goalkeeper and Freshman of the Year, the ball slipped underneath her grasp and into the bottom right corner of the net. It was as good a time as any for a first goal of the season for McCarthy, who is third on the squad with 48 shots.
Ramos wound up with a career-high 10 saves for UC San Diego. Hinson had four.
The game was the final home contest for Triton seniors Barber, Ramos, co-captain Summer Bales, Mary Reilly (Chula Vista/Hilltop HS) and Kelsey Kimball. Ramos and Kimball each have one more year of eligibility left should they choose to use it. Reilly scored 27 goals in 45 career home appearances, beginning with her first collegiate tally on the Triton Soccer Stadium surface against Point Loma back on Sept. 5, 2015, the lone winner at the 87:24 mark of a 1-0 decision.
Glaser, who came off the bench for the first time this season, had two other scoring chances in the first half. Her first of a game-high six shots was in the 18th, within six minutes of entering the game. She got on the end of a Teagle header, but Ramos was there to save it out for a corner kick. With just 10 seconds remaining, Glaser's shot from the close left was blocked by sophomore right back Natalie Widmer.
Sophomore central midfielder Michelle Baddour (San Diego/University City HS) had earlier almost broken the scoreless deadlock for the Tritons with a powerful right-footer from over 20 yards away, that Hinson tipped over the crossbar with difficulty.
With the score knotted at 2-2 in the 69th, Reilly created space for herself to get a right-footed shot off in a dangerous position, only for a stellar defensive block by a Sea Lion. Bales sent her corner toward the near post, and it was cleared with some discomfort, out for another corner. That one, also by Bales, was mishandled by Hinson, but UC San Diego was unable to find a way through.
UC San Diego moves on to a third consecutive West Region final against the same opponent, rival Western Washington. The Vikings won 2-1 in overtime in Golden, Colo., in 2016 en route to its first national title. The Tritons returned the favor at home last Nov. 17, 2-0. The rubber match will take place at a site still yet to be determined, next week, likely on Friday, Nov. 16. The top seed remaining in the South Central Region, takes its turn to host this year, so it could be Colorado School of Mines, West Texas A&M, or University of Colorado Colorado Springs, pending Sunday's results in that region.
On Saturday, third-seeded Western Washington also rallied from 2-0 down to win 3-2, at second-seeded host and Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Concordia (OR) in Portland, Ore., scoring twice over the final five minutes of regulation, prior to nabbing a winner at 97:19 of overtime. The Tritons and Vikings have already met once this season, with UC San Diego earning a 1-0 triumph in its home opener back on Sept. 1 thanks to an 85th-minute Maddy Samilo goal.
Triton Notes: UC San Diego remains a perfect 5-0 in the all-time series ... Point Loma had not scored against the Tritons in 360 minutes over the first four meetings, three of which were in La Jolla ... UC San Diego improves to 27-11-4 (.690) in its 16th Division II Championship appearance ... UC San Diego utilized the same starting lineup for the 19th time in 21 games this year ... Senior co-captain Summer Bales started her 44th consecutive game on the left side of midfield ... Redshirt junior co-captain Natalie Saddic started her 60th straight match ... UC San Diego improved to 30-0-1 over its last 31 home contests, dating back to a 1-0 defeat to then-sixth-ranked Mines on Sept. 11, 2016 ... Megumi Barber now has 14 goals for her career ... UC San Diego had allowed 23 attempts in the 2017 season finale against UCCS, and 13 shots on goal at Sonoma State on Oct. 18, 2015 ... Angelica Ramos' 10 saves were the most by a Triton since the 10 turned in on Nov. 6, 2015, against Sonoma State in Pomona by Kelcie Brodsky, who was one of a number of former players in attendance, with her brother and parents ... Gabi Hernandez and Mary McWalters were also present ... The Sea Lions entered the game a perfect 10-0 away from home in 2018 ... UC San Diego gave up multiple goals for the first time this year, and first time since a 4-3 home win over Sonoma State in the 2017 CCAA Tournament final last Nov. 5 The three goals against Point Loma were a season high, as the Sea Lions lost 2-1 in double overtime at home to then-seventh-ranked Western Washington back on Aug. 30, and went 16-0-1 since then with three single tallies allowed ... UC San Diego rallied to win from a two-goal deficit for the first time since another 3-2 decision in double overtime at Cal State East Bay on Oct. 26, 2012.
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 80 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 36 have earned prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.
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