By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme) – Spear Reporter
If you love defense then this was the game for you as San Jose State women’s soccer (1-3-4, 0-0-1 MW) tied Air Force (3-3-2 0-0-1 MW) 0-0. Previously women’s soccer had walked away with their first win of the season over Eastern Washington.
A Chess Match To Start for SJSU Women’s Soccer
To kick things off both Air Force and SJSU took the safe route. There were many passes back to the goalkeeper of each team who would direct traffic from there.
The Spartans were able to take an early advantage, as they had managed to generate a few chances. Both freshman midfielder Tatiana Cunningham and sophomore midfielder Taylor Phillips put the ball into opportune areas of the field.
As previously mentioned Phillips was moving the ball well and at one point in the first half made a beautiful pass between two defenders to sophomore forward Bella Flocchini. Despite this nice feed and breakaway, the shot would be saved gracefully by Air Force junior goalkeeper Sydney Davis.
A great example of how stifled though Air Force was is that by the 30-minute mark they only had two shots, both not on goal.
The low amount of shots could certainly be credited to both SJSU women’s soccer’s defense and offense as they both kept up the pressure.
Air Force Finally Awakens After Slow Start
The careful plodding of cleats would continue into the second half with both teams waiting for the other to make the first mistake. Like two prizefighters squaring each other up, the first blunder would most likely end in a big blow either way.
At the 56-minute mark, SJSU began to generate some offensive chances with most shots going wide of the net.
With physical play picking up, the first and only yellow card of the game would be given out to Air Force at the 63-minute mark to senior defender Kayla Milford.
After this, it felt like Air Force began to gain some momentum on their side and get some chances as a result. It felt like the physical play was actually benefiting Air Force more than SJSU.
At one point late in the second half, with SJSU’s offense feeling the pressure from Air Force, the Spartans would play it back to freshman goalkeeper Bente Pernot. Pernot would attempt to make a pass out but would turn it over on a pass leading to Air Force getting a dangerous chance though they were not able to convert.
At the end of the match, neither net would ever feel the ball though as the final score would be 0-0.
SJSU head coach Tina Estrada commented on the lack of offense. “Unfortunately I would say three really good clear chances on goal that we just didn’t get on the scoreboard. So we’re going to have to do a better job going forward at execution.”
SJSU women’s soccer will have its next match in Colorado Springs against Colorado College on Sept. 25 at 11:00 a.m.
