SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s soccer team (10-3-3, 4-1-2 Pac-12) rallied late with goals by KK Chowana-Bandhu and Victoria Miller in the final nine minutes to defeat Gonzaga (8-8-2, 3-4-0 Pac-12) on Friday night on the SDSU Sports Deck.
Defense reigned supreme in the first half with the teams combining for just three shots on goal. Alexyz Nakamoto had her shot saved by Sydney Head in the 11th minute before Kailey Carlen responded with a save of her own on a shot by Amelia Severn a minute later. Carlen saved another shot, this one by Shila Rasoul, in the 42nd minute.
SDSU turned up the pressure on the Bulldogs immediately in the second half with Katie Senn forcing another save just eight seconds after the Aztecs kicked off to begin the half. Gonzaga’s Samantha Snorsky put a shot on target 26 seconds afterwards that was saved by Kailey Carlen.
In the 52nd minute, Gonzaga took a 1-0 lead when Severn had her shot blocked, but Sophia Fox was there to shoot the ball into the net. The Bulldogs looked to add on in the 70th minute but Kalia Franklin’s shot bounced off the crossbar. Just past the 72-minute mark, Gonzaga’s Olivia Lester was issued a yellow card. Three minutes later, Franklin had another close shot, this one saved by Carlen.
As the time ran down towards ten minutes remaining, SDSU furiously rallied. Kenny Moore had a good shot that was saved by Head in the 80th minute. Two minutes later, Chowana-Bandhu fired a rocket with her right foot from the top of the box past a diving Head to tie the match. As the Aztecs looked to pull ahead, Gonzaga saved shots by Senn and Lily Boudet in the 86th and 87th minutes, respectively. Finally, in the 88th minute, Victoria Miller broke through. She intercepted a pass on the Pac-12 logo and floated a ball from the top of the box over the keeper and into the back of the net to win the match.
The Aztecs finished the match with more shots on goal (7-5), fouls (9-8) and time of possession (56%-44%). The Bulldogs had more saves (5-4) and shots (17-14) while each team had five corner kicks.
THE NOTE I
For the second straight season, San Diego State scored the game-winning goal with less than eight minutes remaining in the match to win by a 2-1 score on senior night.
THE NOTE II
San Diego State won on senior night for the fifth consecutive season. SDSU has not lost on senior night or senior day since 2018 and holds a 7-0-1 record when it honors its seniors over the last eight years.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs will conclude its regular season with a road match at No. 25 Utah State on Thursday, November 5. The match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.