Cal State East Bay edged by No. 9 UCSD, 1-0

  • October 29, 2010



HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women’s soccer team hung with No. 9 UC San Diego on Friday, but could not match the Tritons’ lone goal in a 1-0 loss on Senior Day at Pioneer Stadium. The Pioneers (6-9-3, 4-9-2 CCAA) held the Tritons scoreless in the first half and saw UCSD’s early goal in the second half stand up in the defeat.

The Pioneers and Tritons played a scoreless first half, with UCSD holding a narrow 4-3 advantage in shots. San Diego keeper Kristin Armstrong needed two saves to keep East Bay out of the back of the net, while CSUEB keeper Nina Cefalo posted a single save to keep the scoresheet blank in the opening 45 minutes.

UCSD took advantage early in the second half, scoring the only goal of the game in the 50th minute. After knocking on the door for the opening minutes of the second frame, the Tritons broke through the defense as Anne Wethe played a through ball to leading scorer Annette Ilg who found herself one-on-one with Cefalo before beating her to her right to give UCSD a 1-0 lead.

Despite plenty of pressure from the Tritons, including three shots on target following the goal, the Pioneers soldiered on. Cefalo and the defense worked to keep UCSD out of the net, while the East Bay attack looked to find the equalizer.

Though the San Diego backline continued to break up their scoring opportunities, the Pioneers persevered and looked set to score in the final minutes. Senior midfielder Jennifer Lu sent a shot sailing high in the 83rd minute, before fellow seniors Michelle Garcia and Athena Bell’s shots in the final minute were off target and blocked, respectively, just before the final buzzer sounded.

Cefalo finished the match with four saves on UCSD’s 10 shots, while Armstrong needed just two stops while facing six CSUEB shots to complete the shutout victory. Ilg paced all players with three shots on the day, while Garcia led the Pioneer offense with a pair of shots of her own.

Five seniors played their final home game for the Pioneers on Friday. Garcia, Bell, Lu, Jasmine Stephens and Giana Raccanello were honored before the game for their contributions to the program as it transitioned to NCAA Division II.

Cal State East Bay returns to action on Sunday, when it closes out the season against UCSD in La Jolla. The Pioneers and Tritons are set to kick off at 2 p.m. at RIMAC Field.