Sept. 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
UC Irvine-San Diego State Final Box in PDF Format
Senior Jessica Gordon sent San Diego State fans home happy after she provided the game-winning goal at 92:40 as the Aztecs downed UC Irvine in overtime, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. The victory is San Diego State's third straight and improves its record to 6-3-2, while the Anteaters fall to 7-3-1 after losing their second in a row.
The Aztecs, who are unbeaten in their last four outings, won their first overtime match since Nov. 2, 2007, and were winless in their previous nine overtime games (0-4-5), including three this year (0-1-2).
The Aztecs faced an early 1-0 deficit just over 22 minutes into the game following Devon Delarosa's second goal of the year. UCI's Tanya Taylor, who had the ball on the right side, found Delarosa, who in turn deposited her shot from 12 yards out past SDSU goalkeeper Aubree Southwick.
With the exception of the Anteaters' goal, both squads prevented one other from having quality scoring opportunities in the first half despite what the halftime box score read. At intermission, UCI held a slim edge in shots, 4-2, with all six coming on goal.
San Diego State, the 10th ranked squad in the Pacific Region, began to pick up its play in the second half, which resulted in three Niki Fernandes shots, two of which were saved by UC Irvine goalie Danielle de Seriere. Sandwiched between Fernandes' second and third shots was an open look by Hillary Harvey, who went wide left in an effort to tie the score. With the Aztecs applying a ton of offensive pressure, SDSU's cross was deflected and Gretel Amman corralled the rebound at the top of the box. Then from 20 yards out, Amman shot a low liner that found the bottom left corner to knot the score at 1-1 at 66:43.
UCI, which is ranked No. 6 in the West Region, created chances of its own following Amman's first of the year, but each time the Anteaters were met by the Aztec defense and Southwick, who made a handful of nice saves. Not to be outdone, San Diego State had its opportunities as well, but could not convert as the match went into overtime.
After offsides calls were assessed to both teams in the opening two minutes of the extra session, Fernandes dribbled the ball along the right side, sent a cross into the box and found Cat Walker, whose header was knocked down by de Seriere. With the ball on the ground and Gordon battling for possession with de Seriere, a UCI player and Walker, Gordon finally gained control on the right side from two yards out and calmly put the ball in the net to provide the final margin.
Gordon's goal was her second of the season and first game-winner of 2009. The score gives her seven points for the season, which ranks second behind Walker's 10. Both Fernandes and Walker were credited with assists, giving them 1 and 2, respectively, this year.
Defensively, Southwick played the entire contest and made a game-high tying six saves. As a unit, San Diego State has allowed one goal or fewer in four straight matches (3-0-1) and in six of its last seven dates (4-1-2).
Offensively, the Aztecs scored twice for the third consecutive game, which is a season high (3-0-0). Individually, Fernandes led the team with four shots, including three on goal. Gordon, meanwhile, took three shots (two on goal) and Walker had each of her attempts stopped by the UCI keeper.
San Diego State returns to action on Friday, Oct. 2, when it plays host to Oregon State at 4 p.m. PT. The tilt is game No. 2 of the Aztec Classic. Earlier in the day, Mountain West Conference foe UNLV will take on Seattle at 1:30 p.m. at SDSU Sports Deck. Aztec Classic competition will continue on Sunday, Oct. 4, when UNLV plays OSU at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Aztecs and SU at 2 p.m.