TURLOCK — An exciting day full of pomp and circumstance needed extra time Sunday to decide it, and it was visiting Cal State San Bernardino who got the final hurrah, scoring the game-winning goal 19 seconds into overtime to walk away with a 2-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association win on Senior Day at Warrior Stadium.
The Warriors (6-5-3, 3-2-3 CCAA) honored 14 seniors playing in their final regular season home game at Warrior Stadium.
Jaydn Bush,
Julia Cummings,
Summer England,
Mikaela Enriquez,
Autumn Halvorsen,
Skyler Hoy,
Amanda Leal,
Valerie Ogorodnikov,
Rayana Plancarte,
Ilena Rivera,
Anisa Saechao,
Sarah Stralen,
Jazzmin Thompson, and
Jenna Zuniga, all were recognized in a pregame ceremony. 11 of them saw playing time in the game.
The Coyotes (3-10-1, 1-6-1 CCAA) took the kickoff to start the overtime period. The first thing they did was send the ball upfield to Alissa Torres. Torres took space on the right side, then sent a pass to the middle where Nathaly Losada Lucumi was positioning. At the very moment Losada Lucumi received the pass, the Stanislaus State defense tried to pull her offsides, but it was a split second too late.
So instead of having the play called dead, Losada Lucumi was all alone with the ball all to herself, a one-on-one with the 'keeper, and a retreating defense. She'd shoot low right to put the ball in the back of the net and win the game only 19 seconds into the 91st minute.
"We are disappointed with today's result, especially considering it was senior day and we wanted to give our seniors a win on their day," said Stanislaus State head coach
Gabriel Bolton. "Credit to San Bernardino. They played fantastic. In this conference, every game is a battle. You have to go out and earn your wins."
The Warriors took the lead just four minutes into the game and controlled the offensive attack for most of the first half. Zuniga launched a ball from outside the Warriors' penalty box all the way down to about 30 yards from CSUSB's goal. Rivera settled the ball and tapped it backwards to
Rayana Plancarte in one move. Plancarte then turned and found Rivera running to her right. Rivera finished the play for her third goal of the year and a 1-0 early advantage.
Stanislaus State outshot the Coyotes, 22-16, including 14-8 in the first half. But the Coyotes were energetic on each opportunity they had. CSUSB finally broke through and tied the game with a goal in the 38th minute. Torres was on the assist for that goal as well, sending the ball into the box to Vidalia Abarca, who finished it from six yards out to tie the game at 1-1.
"The good news is we have lots to play for still," said Bolton. "We will bounce back."
The Warriors travel to the Bay Area next week to face two of the CCAA's top-three teams. They'll face first-place Sonoma State on Friday, and second-place San Francisco State on Sunday. Fans can find all live coverage links on WarriorAthletics.com.
