By: Jasmina Lara (@lara_jasmina06) – Spear Reporter | SJSU junior defender Carmen Hinton taking a free kick against Cal Poly on Sept. 4. (Photo by Alex Stoev – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State’s women’s soccer team (1-7-1, 0-0-1 MW) tied 2-2 in its first conference game against University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2-6-2, 0-0-1 MW) on Thursday night.
The Spartans and the Rebels brought intensity to their attack and defensive plays constantly threatening each other with achieving possession.
Being the first to strike in the first half, Spartans junior forward Leslie Jacobo-Duran scored at the top right of the goal.
SJSU led for only a minute before UNLV answered back and tied the match.
It came from a foul on Spartans freshmen forward Maryam Ladkani awarded the Rebels a free kick which turned into a goal by senior midfielder Michelle Madrid at the top center of the goal.
Junior defender Carmen Hinton came up with a crucial save to stop UNLV from scoring, stepping in to assist sophomore goalkeeper Paige Fry, who was caught out of her box.
Both blocked a shot by the Rebels senior forward Cadence Whitely.
The attack and counter attack of the game was strong for both teams. Each opportunity that was created was prevented at every turn.
“We created a lot of great chances. Our patterns of play were excellent.” SJSU head coach Sonia Curvelo said.
Hinton had a clean save by sliding for pure ball, preventing the Rebels taking any opportunity at goal.
Rebels sophomore midfielder Summer Pyles tried a shot at goal in the top right of the net but was saved by Fry.
A shot by SJSU freshman midfielder/forward Amaya Cabrales-Estrada was blocked.
However, it was last touched by the UNLV senior goalkeeper Hanne Breur which led to a corner kick at 40 minutes.
The Spartans sophomore defender Charlotte Memoly took the kick which assisted junior forward Paige Pineda-Aliamus who gave them the lead with a goal at the bottom left of the net.
The Rebels started off strong in the offensive attack in the second half which did not spook the Spartans as they returned the same energy.
First yellow card of the match was at the 53 minute for UNLV sophomore defender Brooke Gardner for unsporting which awarded SJSU a free kick in the center.
Nevertheless, the Spartans were not able to make anything as the shot was off target.
Whitley had another shot at the bottom center of the net but was saved by Fry.
Flipping the momentum from the Spartans, the Rebels senior midfielder/forward Sarah Martinez tied the match in the 79 minute with an assist by redshirt junior forward Kylie Camp.
The Spartans tried to create some momentum with a last minute corner kick to score but were unsuccessful.
Fry prevented opportunities for the Rebels shutting down their goal attempts with having over nine saves in the match and two allowed goals.
The Spartans ended the match with 14 shots with five of them being on goal.
“We have to continue to push, got to recover between now and Sunday and do our best to get three points on the road Sunday.” Curvelo said.
SJSU faces University of Nevada, Reno at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nev.
