LOS ANGELES - The No. 11 UC San Diego women's soccer team was dealt a 2-1 road loss Monday evening as No. 17 Cal State L.A. received two scores from junior Alex Conley to secure the victory and keep sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division.
UCSD sophomore Sara Spaventa tallied her first career goal in the 79th minute Monday but that ended up being all the Tritons could muster in a counter to Conley's two scores. The loss snapped UCSD's seven-match winning streak, dropping the Tritons to 12-3 overall and 9-3 in CCAA play. The Golden Eagles improve to 13-2-2 overall and 10-2-2 in conference action.
Before the UCSD offense could register a shot on goal, Conley knocked in a hard shot from the right side of the box past Tritons' sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Armstrong as Liz Franco and Kastidi Robles earned the assists on the play in the 22nd minute.
With the Golden Eagles holding an 8-3 shot advantage and 1-0 lead at halftime, the Conley and Franco connection struck again at the 52:51 mark. Receiving another pass from Franco, Conley split a pair of UCSD defenders and placed a shot inside the far post for her second score of the match and conference-leading 10th goal of the season.
Spaventa got the Tritons on the board at the 79:51 mark, firing a spectacular shot from about 30 yards out just underneath the crossbar and over the outstretched arms of CSULA netminder Heather Emswiler. Sophomore Shelby Wong, UCSD's season leader in points, earned the assist on the play as she had found the open Spaventa with a pass.
The Tritons had their share of offensive chances in the waning moments of the match. Freshman Alyssa Newcomer, who had scored the game winner at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, saw a couple of her shots be saved by Emswiler following Spaventa's score. An attempt by freshman Gabi Hernandez with less than five minutes remaining sailed wide.
The best chance to tie up the match for UCSD came with roughly 20 seconds left in regulation as freshman Hayley Johnson attempted a corner kick. The bending ball slipped just wide of the net and the home fans exhaled en route to an upset win over the Tritons.
The UCSD squad will finish its CCAA regular season with four home matches, starting with a 4:30 p.m. contest Friday against Cal State San Bernardino. The Coyotes, sitting just below the second-place tie of Tritons and Toros (CSUDH) in the South Division standings, are 7-3-2 in league play.
