By: Jasmina Lara (@lara_jasmina06) – Spear Reporter– Spartans sophomore midfielder Lillyana Rodriguez advances the ball upfield in open space. (Photo by Max Garcia– Spear photographer)
San Jose State women’s soccer (1-4-0), back on home turf, fell to UC Santa Barbara (3-1-1) 1-0 in the last 20 minutes of the match on Sunday.
The defensive led game between both teams tells this story in its entirety.
The Spartans last met the Gauchos in the previous season on September 1, where the Spartans lost the match 3-0.
A corner kick at 37 minutes was saved by Spartans freshman midfielder Mercedes Cioffi as she headed the ball out of the box.
Each opportunity the Gauchos got, the Spartans came to shut it down.
“From the back line, we made sure to close in tight, giving them little to much space,” Cioffi said. “So we made that adjustment early on, we were able to stop a lot of balls from coming through.”
SJSU sophomore goalkeeper Paige Fry had two saves.
The Spartans had two shots with one shot on goal during the first half of the game.
The Gauchos had slightly more possession in the first half of the game, leading with six shots and one shot at goal.
During the 62nd minute, Cioffi took a shot in hopes of being the first to score, but was off target.
Keeping up with the momentum, SJSU freshman midfielder Joliye Brass shot at goal but was off target as well.
Finally putting points on the board in the 69th minute, the Gauchos senior forward Haley Philips scored in the top left of the goal, bringing them up 1-0.
This did not dwindle the spirits of the Spartans as they fought to make an opportunity.
With only five shots with two shots on target the Spartans gained momentum in the second half.
“I thought in the second half, we pushed the players up higher up the field. I would have liked to see more shots on goal.” SJSU head coach Sonia Curvelo said.
In hopes of creating an opportunity for the Spartans, junior forward Leslie Jacobo-Duran shot at the bottom right of the net.
It was saved by the Gauchos sophomore goalkeeper Kate Willmering.
The Spartans defense did not waver, making sure to keep the Gauchos from scoring again.
In the match, the Spartans had seven fouls total.
During the 81st minute, a yellow card was given to SJSU freshman defender Gabrielle Germain for unsporting behavior.
The Spartans had another opportunity with a shot by sophomore defender Charlotte Memoly towards the bottom center of the net, but it was saved.
“Every minute counts. I think we honestly played a solid 89 minutes. And that one minute that you have those slips, those moments,”said Fry. “So making sure that our fitness is good, our mentality is good throughout all 90 minutes.”
San Jose State faces California Polytechnic State University at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
