The women’s soccer team pulled out a 2-1 victory over the visiting Dartmouth Big Green today scoring their first goal in under a minute.
Junior forward/defender Myriah Stockman took advantage of defensive disorganization and scored a beautifully bent quick free kick from the top side of the box. The keeper barely had time to react as the ball bent into the top upper 90 of the net. Throughout the first 15 minutes the Waves were adamant on maintaining communication and energy from both on the field and off.
However after 20 minutes of leading the game the Waves started to lose cohesion. A long shot from junior forward Ally O’Dea in the midfield caught sophomore goalie Roxanne Barker off her line and tied the game for the Big Green.
The Waves started regaining momentum in the 2nd half. In the 63rd minute junior forward/midfielder Michelle Spacciapolli found her way into the box and was fouled resulting in a free kick. Senior forward Laura Cole placed the ball in the back of the net regaining the lead for the Waves.
The Waves have been working all season on “putting the game away.” Finishing today 2-1 the Waves were able to hold onto the lead and pull out a win.
Head Coach Tim Ward commented that “we’ve learned our lessons. Today we gave a more professional performance.” He hopes to continue “focusing on intensity as it was a big factor in the Wave’s win against what Ward mentioned was, a really good Dartmouth team.”
Senior forward Anisa Guajardo felt “today wasn’t a pretty win but it was a win none the less. Coach emphasized energy [before the game] so we focused on that. We really just wanted to have them on their toes from the start and Myriah’s goal did just that.”
A new face on the field freshman defender Michelle Pao has been a refreshing player to the Waves’ energy. Ward was very complimentary of the freshman’s recent playing time.
“She’s very talented and doing very well Ward said. We felt she was ready.”
Pao has added a lot of speed to the defense freeing up Stockman to go forward and create offense. Just a freshman Pao has created a lot of offense in both today’s game and the matchup against UCI on Friday.
“She’s got a lot of talent…and keeps Haleigh [Guertin] and Myriah [Stockman] on their toes Ward said after today’s game. We expect to see her improve as the season progresses.”
The Waves leave next weekend for Hawaii to face Washington State on September 18 and Hawaii on September 19 in the Hawaii Outrigger Hotels Soccer Classic.