DAVIS, Calif. – Trailing by a goal late in the first half, UC San Diego scored three unanswered as the Tritons rallied for a 3-1 victory in Big West women's soccer Sunday afternoon on Aggie Soccer Field.
Raquel Kalpakoff and
Karize Madero scored goals for UC San Diego (2-6-3, 1-1-1 Big West) in the road victory.
UC San Diego's three-goal output matched the most the Tritons have ever scored in a Big West match, and the three scores set a new high for the blue and gold in a Big West road match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies (5-5-2, 1-1-2) controlled play for much of the first half with the Tritons holding tough in their defensive third. UC Davis broke through in the 20th minute as Risa Yamada fed Sam Tristan whose strike found the upper-left corner of the net, putting the home team on top, one-nil.
The Tritons had just one shot over the first half, a left-footed strike from
Raquel Kalpakoff that was off target. UC San Diego leveled the score in the 43' as UC Davis' Lindsey Porter played a ball high off her right foot, but the kick wasn't true, and it trickled into the net for an own goal.
Davis held a 7-1 advantage in first half shots and drew both first half corner kicks, but the scoreboard read 1-1 with 45 minutes remaining.
In the 57',
Kennedy Carter had a beautiful takeaway and raced up the left flank. Her shot attempt was blocked but led to UC San Diego's first corner of the match. The Tritons played the ball in off the corner and Kalpakoff fought through the scrum scoring her team-leading fifth goal of the season to give the visitors a 2-1 lead with just over thirty minutes to play.
The Aggies applied pressure late, but the Tritons back line held firm. In the 90th minute, freshman
Karize Madero had a breakaway opportunity, beating UC Davis keeper Caeley Goldstein point blank. Madero's goal – the first of her Triton career – put the match out of reach.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Raquel Kalpakoff's five goals scored so far in 2023 equals a UC San Diego single season record in the Division I era. Her five goals ranks third in The Big West this season.
- Sunday marked the first time in which UC San Diego was the beneficiary of an own goal so far this season.
- Triton goalkeeper Keara Fitzgerald entered the match leading The Big West with 5.7 saves per game. She made six more saves in Sunday's win.
- Davis held a 16-9 shot advantage (9-8 in the second half).
- Prior to Sunday, UC Davis had outscored the Tritons 6-1 over two prior Big West matches since UC San Diego began Big West play in 2021.
- The Tritons wore their blue kits Sunday afternoon with Fitzgerald in red.
QUOTABLE
"We talked a lot after Thursday about how, when things don't go well, we need to stop the bleeding and simplify the game to get our confidence back. I'm proud of them for putting Thursday behind them with a strong effort today on the road against a very good team," said UC San Diego head coach
Kristin Jones '04. "Both goals we scored came from our cohesive effort as a unit and a strong work rate. I thought, in particular, our back line had an incredible game today after what happened on Thursday."
UP NEXT
The Tritons return to La Jolla to continue Big West play on Thursday when the Tritons host UC Santa Barbara as part of UC San Diego's
Latinx Heritage Month Celebration. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Triton Soccer Stadium with free admission for all. The match 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 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 84 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.
