Tritons and Seawolves to Duel for Tournament Title
The 2017 CCAA Women’s Soccer Championship match is set after an eventful evening at UC San Diego’s Triton Stadium. First, the No. 3 seed Sonoma State Seawolves upended the No. 2 from Cal State LA in a 2-0 contest to earn a third finals appearance in the last four years. Then, the tournament’s top seed and host, UC San Diego, netted the game-winner in the 67th minute in the contest against cross-town foe No. 5 Cal State San Marcos as the home team will look for a three-peat in Sunday’s finale. Read more on the matches >>>
No. 3 Sonoma State 2, No. 2 Cal State LA 0
Box score |
SSU presser |
CSULA presser |
post-game quotes (.pdf)
Sonoma State is back in the finals after turning the tables on one of the high-powered offenses in the CCAA. The Seawolves outshot the Cal State LA Golden Eagles 28-5 on the night, tallying a pair of goals in the victory. Sonoma State now sits at 13-3-1 on the year while Cal State LA moves to 9-5-3 after the defeat.
For Seawolves head coach Emiria Salzmann Dunn, she anticipated a tough test after a rematch from the 2016 semifinal matchup, and that’s exactly what her squad got.
“I’m just glad we won. Last year, we actually lost to Cal State LA. It’s always been a really strong opponent for us. Isabelle, their coach, is in my opinion one of the better coaches I think in making adjustments toward the end of the year and getting her team through playoff moments.”
Instead of the Golden Eagles getting the playoff moment of note, it was instead the Seawolves making the most of the night, first capitalizing on a header in the 41st minute of action from Sarah Lindborg. Sonoma State tacked on another goal in the second half, this time after Sara Van Wagoner booted it from distance and found the left corner.
The Sonoma State defense kept the 2017 Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Paulina Chaidez silent on the stat sheet, and the Seawolves offense fired off the second-highest shot total of the season in the CCAA en route to the win.
“I think when we first played them they were a little thrown off by our formation. We have very talented players, we’re fast,” noted Cal State LA senior Zarette Munoz-Aguilar. “I think this time around when we re-matched them, I think they adjusted well to our style of play and honestly they just went after it. They were hungry – we were hungry, too – but I think they showed out. They gave us a challenge and it’s always fun playing against good teams.”
No. 1 UC San Diego, No. 5 Cal State San Marcos
Box score |
UCSD presser |
CSUSM presser |
post-game quotes (.pdf)
Playing with a lineup that head coach Brian McManus never would have imagined, the top-seeded UC San Diego Tritons rose to the occasion to gut out the 1-0 victory over No. 5 Cal State San Marcos propelled by a key defensive stop, and a bang-bang offensive play to score the eventual game-winner.
The Tritons are now looking for a three-peat in the CCAA Championship Final carrying a 13-2-2 season record into the first meeting of the year with Sonoma State. The fifth-seeded Cougars left the Triton Stadium field with heads held high after advancing to their first-ever CCAA semifinal and exceeding the preseason expectations.
The game was scoreless heading into the second half of action, and Cal State San Marcos had the chance to take the lead with 28 minutes on the clock after Lauren Perry flicked on to Kayla Anderson, but the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year again earned her title by coming in to break up the play.
“San Marcos plays very direct so I knew there was going to be a lot of balls coming over the top, and they got that flick,” recalled UC San Diego’s Natalie Saddic. “It went right over me and past our other fullback. I saw [Anderson] running in and I knew there was no way I could get to her so I just knew I had to drop central and get to the ball. I got there in time to kick it off the line.”
Five minutes later, the Tritons capitalized on a bang-bang play with Summer Bales and Caitlin McCarthy feeding freshman Maddy Samilo for the strike.
For head coach Brian McManus, one of the most impressive things about the night was the composition of the women on the field, playing without five veteran starters yet still managing to advance to its third-consecutive championship final.
“Unbelievable. I mean out there tonight [was a lineup] that’s never played together, have never even had a practice game together and every one of them stepped up from the back to the front … The team you put in the part of the night that would never envisioned that team being on the field to start the season. We expected to be bringing the young players, the freshmen along slowly but they’ve ended up a baptism by fire, and they’ve stepped up and they’ve done the job. It’s been incredible.”