by Carlos Reyes (@CarlosReyesSJ) – Spear Reporter
In the final game of its East Coast roadtrip, SJSU women’s soccer faced a relentless attack from Boston College that saw them finishing the match with a 2-0 loss.
With only six minutes into the first half, Boston College struck first via a curling shot from junior forward Ella Richards that skipped past sophomore goalkeeper Bente Pernot.
Richards’ teammate, sophomore forward Sydney Segalla, elegantly streaked down the sideline which attracted the attention of two Spartan defenders. Segalla took advantage of the unorganized SJSU defense and laid the ball off to junior forward Andi Barth, who was eagerly waiting at the edge of the keeper’s box.
What happened next is nothing short of poetry in motion.
Barth noticing that fifth year defender Kiana Miyazato was hot on her trail, opted to delicately heel flick the oncoming pass to a wide open Richards who sealed a beautifully orchestrated attack from the Eagles.
Fast forward about 20 minutes later into the first half, and Boston College was on the attack again. This time, freshman midfielder Bella Douglass rifled a pass designated for a hungry Richards that sprinted towards the penalty box.
The long cross fell short and Miyazato attempted to clear the ball from danger, but couldn’t make clean contact with the ball.
Richards once again took advantage of a defensive mistake and punished SJSU with a trickling shot that danced past Pernot.
The first half came come to a close with little response from the Spartans, and they went into the locker room with a daunting 2-0 gap.
In the second half, SJSU continued to struggle on offense and couldn’t generate any meaningful shots on target. Boston College constantly controlled possession of the ball and dominated the midfield with fluid ball movement.
Pernot was called to action a handful of times in the second half and was a key factor in preventing the Eagles from expanding their comfortable lead.
“At the end of the day it’s who’s putting it in the back of the net, and that’s an area we’re going to grow in and continue to work on going into this week’s practice,” said head coach Tina Estrada after the loss.
The Spartans will have an opportunity to bounce back at home when they take on UC Irvine on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in San Jose.