LA JOLLA, Calif. – Sarah McTigue scored a pair of goals in the first seven minutes and it was all the No. 9 UC San Diego women’s soccer team needed, as the Tritons took down Cal State East Bay, 2-0, in the final match of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Sunday afternoon at Triton Soccer Field.
The Tritons finish the regular season on a 10-game winning streak, compiling a 14-2-2 overall record and a 12-2-2 mark in CCAA competition. They are now unbeaten in their last 13 matches and will finish the year in second place in the CCAA South Division, trailing Cal State L.A. by a single point. The Pioneers fall to 6-10-3 overall, 4-10-2 in CCAA play and will finish in last place in the CCAA South.
UCSD needed only one shot to get its first goal on the board. In the fourth minute, McTigue would find space at the top of the box, lifting a shot that appeared high from the outset towards the goal. However, the ball would dip just enough, ricocheting off the bottom of the crossbar and straight-down into the net.
Less than three minutes later, Jessica Wi would find space at the edge of the penalty box, playing a square-ball back towards the middle. McTigue would jump onto the end of it, cracking a one-timer past the CSUEB goalkeeper’s outstretched arm into the side-netting. The goal marked McTigue’s eighth goal of the season, tying her for the team-high along with Annette Ilg.
CSUEB would nearly cut the deficit to one later in the half, as Shianna Falk struck a firm shot from 22 yards out, forcing UCSD keeper Kristin Armstrong to dive to her right and push the ball just above the bar out for a corner kick. Falk’s strike was CSUEB’s most dangerous opportunity on the afternoon, as UCSD outshot CSUEB, 11-8.
CSULA will win the No. 1 seed going into the CCAA postseason tournament, finishing with 39 points in the CCAA South. UCSD will be granted the No. 2 seed while compiling 38 points on the year. San Francisco State (32 points) and Cal State Stanislaus (31 points), the top two finishers in the CCAA North, will be awarded the No. 3 and No. 4 seed, respectively. CSULA will face CSUS and UCSD will take on SFSU in a single elimination tournament in Turlock next weekend to determine CCAA champion and automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II Championships. Match times are still to be decided.
The Tritons have won three of the previous five CCAA championships ranging back to 2005, their last coming during the 2008 campaign.
UCSD honored seniors Ilg and Lisa Bradley for their years of service to UCSD soccer before facing CSUEB on Sunday.
--www.ucsdtritons.com--
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