While the weather cooled, the Golden Eagles women’s soccer team’s unbeaten streak did not, with a 1-0 victory over Vanguard University on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The game was a tale of two halves, as the Golden Eagles dominated the first, but was hotly contested in the second half.
Much like last Saturday’s game against Hawaii-Hilo, the Golden Eagles controlled the tempo early on. The Golden Eagles shot 13 times in the first half, keeping the pressure on the Vanguard Lions’ defense. In comparison, the Lions’ did not take a shot in the first half. The few times the Lions got the ball into Golden Eagle territory, the defense quickly retook possession and went into attack mode.
Head Coach Erik Garcia was pleased with his team’s decision-making in the first half.
“We were just moving the ball, understanding the spaces we want to play. They were executing the game plan. That was the magical part of the first half,” said Garcia.
Despite the shot attempts, the Lions’ defense held serve until the half’s final seconds. Just before time expired, forward Brianna Marquez made a great pass inside the penalty mark for Mia Del Muro, who softly tapped in the game’s only goal. Junior forward Delila Bocanegra was credited for the assist, her first in two years with the team.
The second half was a different story. Vanguard shot the ball eight times as the Golden Eagles played on their side of the field often. After the game, Garcia told the team that they only played one-half of soccer.
“In the second half, we were not doing certain things we usually do and we need to execute a bit better. We got a little bit disorganized,” said Garcia.
The disorganization was apparent in the game’s final 15 minutes, where the Golden Eagles got three yellow cards. This included a yellow card on Garcia with around 9 minutes left after arguing with an official. Yellow cards have been an issue for the Golden Eagles this season, as they’ve gotten one in each of their first three games.
However, the defense was aggressive at the point of attack and constantly disrupted the Lions’ corner kicks, counterattacks and shot attempts. Goalie Taesja Paopao turned in another stellar performance, notching five saves in her second shutout of the year.
Midfielder Madison Juarez, who played 29 minutes in Wednesday’s victory, talked about the importance of their defensive work.
“We trained really hard defensively and we know that if we’re not going to get this job done, then we’re going to run at practice … so I think the amount of training we put in really showed,” said Juarez.
The Golden Eagles finish their four-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 14 when they welcome the defending national champions the Point Loma Sea Lions to University Stadium — a match Juarez is looking forward to.
“I think we’re going to take what we learned from today’s game and fix it and give them a really tough challenge on Saturday,” said Juarez.
