TURLOCK, Calif.---  After trailing 4-0 with a little over 42 minutes left in regulation, Stan State outscored UC Merced 5-1 in the final 42 minutes to tie the match at 5-5 and send the match into the penalty kick round in this evening's exhibition match at Warrior Stadium. The Warriors won the penalty kick round 5-4 with Malia Allen stopping the final Bobcat kick to secure the victory.
 
FIRST HALF:  UC Merced, who had played three regular season matches, took the 1-0 ln the 13^th minute when Trinidad Quiroz connected on a ball from Alondra Higareda.  Eight minutes later, the Bobcats doubled their lead when Kaely Carliglio connected on the first of two goals off a ball from Higareda.  Carliglio gave the visitors a 3-0 lead in the 23^rd minute off a ball from Quiroz.  Stan State had a chance to score in the 30^th minute when Arionna Imhoff's shot on goal was stopped by the Bobcats' Jadyn Gong.  Natalia Ochoa stopped the Bobcats' final chance of a goal in the final minutes of the half to send the match into the half with UC Merced leading 3-0.
 
SECOND HALF:  Two minutes into the second half, UC Merced took a 4-0 lead on penalty kick by Higareda.  The Warriors scored three unanswered goals in the next twelve minutes to cut the deficit to 4-3.  Alexis Brewah scored the first goal off a ball from Sunny Mancilla in the 54^th minute.  Five minutes later, Kaley Miller cut the Bobcat lead to 4-2 on an unassisted goal.  Not even a minute later, Brewah connected on a ball form Makeila Yancey to make UC Merced 4-3.  The Bobcats took a 5-3 lead on a goal by Quiroz in the 61^st minute.
 
Stan State didn't go away as the Warriors cut the deficit to 5-4 when Alisha Garcia connected on a ball from Brewah in the 73^rd minute. The Warriors tied the match at 5-5 with ten minutes left on a goal by Haylee Heffner off a ball from Brewah.  Stan State's Malia Allen made two huge saves in the final minutes of the match to send the match into the penalty kick round.
 
PKs: Each team connected on their penalty kick in the first round as the Warriors' Aliah Avilla and the Bobcats' Trinity Dunbar each connected on their pk.  The next round, Stan State's Kaia Mills and UC Merced's Bella Spiva each made their pk.  The third round, both the Warriors' Shauna Johnston and the Bobcats' Trinidad Quiroz made their pks'. In the fourth round, Stan State's Mancilla and the Bobcats' Yareli Hernandez each made their pk.  Then in the fifth round, Stan State's Natalia Ochoa made it 5-4 Warriors.  The Warriors' Malia Allen came up with the save as the hosts took the penalty kick round 5-4 and captured the Cowbell Cup. 
 
REGULAR SEASON OPENER: Stan State will begin its 2023 regular season this Friday, September 1 in Monmouth, Ore., for a 2pm match with Western Oregon.  The Warriors will conclude the Labor Day Weekend with a 11am match with Saint Martin's in Oregon on Sunday, September 3.  They will have their home opener on Friday, September 8 at 7pm when they host Southern Oregon.