LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego sophomore forward
Natalie Abel scored her third goal of the season to put the Tritons in front early and goalkeeper
Keara Fitzgerald made eight more saves as UC San Diego battled to a 1-1 draw against defending Big West Champion UC Irvine in front of 534 at Triton Soccer Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Tritons (1-6-2) remain unbeaten against the Anteaters (4-3-2) as Big West foes. UC San Diego is now 1-0-1 against UC Irvine in the NCAA Division I era following Sunday's tie.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego had the first quality scoring chance in the fourth minute.
Talisa Lin fed
Kennedy Carter who raced down the right flank and sent a ball through the box to a darting
Ashlynn Kolarik on the left side. Kolarik's one-timer sailed just wide of the net for a UC Irvine goal kick.
UC San Diego broke through in the 15th minute when Lin played a ball to
Sophia Bruno who touched it back to Lin. The ball was quickly played in the box to
Natalie Abel, who scored her
team-leading third goal of the season from ten yards out. That put the Tritons on top, one-nil.
The game settled and UC San Diego would not get another shot until
Lucy Tang fired a shot on frame in the 36th minute.
Fitzgerald faced three shots on goal, making all three stops in the first half. The Anteaters held a slim 6-4 shot advantage in the first 45, and neither team had a corner kick.
In the 63rd minute,
Kennedy Carter served a ball in to Abel who had a great look for her second scoring opportunity of the game, but UCI goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa made the save to keep the Anteaters within a goal.
With exactly 12:00 to play, UC Irvine tied the match with a goal from Gianna Creighton off an assist from Sophie Gillies. The score was Creighton's first of her career.
The Anteaters continued to apply pressure looking for the game-winner, but Fitzgerald came up big. The Triton goalkeeper punched away a shot in the final minute to preserve the tie.
QUOTABLE WITH COACH KRISTIN JONES '04 AND FORWARD NATALIE ABEL
HIGHLIGHTS
TRITON TIDBITS
- Sunday marked UC San Diego's largest home crowd in the Division I era.
- Abel has now scored in three consecutive matches for UC San Diego.
- Fitzgerald is The Big West leader in saves with 56 in 2022.
- The Tritons held a 13-10 advantage in shots after halftime, and 17-16 for the match. It marks the second time this season UC San Diego has out-shot its opponent.
- UC Irvine was picked to win The Big West in the preseason coaches' poll while the Tritons were selected eighth.
UP NEXT
The Tritons hit the road for the first time in Big West play on Thursday when they visit UC Riverside. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 and will air live on ESPN+ with live stats on UCSDTritons.com.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
