STOCKTON, Calif. – In an exciting season opener at Pacific, the UC San Diego women's soccer team came back from a three-zero deficit for a final tie at 4-4. The Tritons were led by Raquel Kalpakoff's second half hat trick.
 
The Tritons' northern foe buried three goals in the first half while keeping the gold and blue scoreless. Striking early, the Tigers scored in the fourth and fourteenth minute. Play evened out until the 41st minute when another Pacific shooter found the back of the net.
 
Coming out of the first half scoreless, the Tritons pressed to hold possession. In the 56th minute, the gold and blue found the back of the net as Alexis Nguyen broke away down the right with Courtney Hilliard sprinting down the middle. Nguyen crossed the ball to Hilliard, who sent the ball across the line with a striking left foot.
 
UC San Diego struck again in the 76th minute to bring them within one when Raquel Kalpakoff capitalized on a bad clear from the Tigers making the score 3-2. Pacific answered right back to jump ahead to 4-2 in the following minute.
 
The gold and blue did not let up as Kalpakoff found the back of the net two more times for the hat trick and the tie. Breaking away, three Tritons flew down the field as Audrey Reed took the ball to the goal line to send out to Hilliard, who then crossed the ball into the box, and Kalpakoff hammered it home. The junior finished her magical night with the game-tying header from a well-placed cross from Talisa Lin. The header brushed past Pacific's keeper to tie the game at 4-4 in the 87th minute.

QUOTABLE
Pacific scored three in the first half to the Tritons' zero, head coach Kristin Jones commented, "we weren't prepared to start the game and we saw ourselves get outplayed in every aspect of the first half, but our resiliency showed up in the second half. We learned, we adjusted, and we capitalized to comeback against a good opponent." She added, "I am very proud of our response in the second half, we were a team tonight. A team that fought for each other and never gave in."

Commenting on Kalpakoff's hat trick, Jones said, "Raquel's hat trick is evidence of her hard work over her career to become a good striker. Her killer instinct and eye for the goal is what we needed tonight and I am very proud of her."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The four goals scored in tonight's match were the most goals scored since 2019.
• Courtney Hilliard scored her second career goal in the 56th minute.
• Raquel Kalpakoff scored her first career hat trick with all three goals coming in the second half.
• Keara Fitzgerald ended the night with nine saves after facing a total of 19 shots.
• This was the Tritons first time meeting the Tigers.

UP NEXT
The Tritons next match is set for Sunday, August 20 at 2 pm at Triton Soccer Stadium. The home opener will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with live stats available 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 has begun a new era 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.