On Thursday, Sept. 26, UC Riverside’s women’s soccer team (2-6-1) faced off against the University of Denver (3-4-2) in which the final outcome of the game resulted in a 1-1 tie.
“We should have won and we played well enough to win. An error in the midfield caused the breakdown and they (Denver) scored with seconds left in the game. How we reacted afterwards (in overtime) was amazing though. I thought we finished the game strong and I’m proud of the effort,” Head Coach Nat Gonzalez said.
The Highlanders entered the game on a two-game losing streak after dropping consecutive losses to UC Berkeley (8-1) and Fresno State (4-2-1).
Both teams remained scoreless in the first half of the game, although Denver was the more aggressive team offensively. The Pioneers attempted 10 shots while the Highlanders only attempted one shot.
Junior forward Alexis Vera scored the first goal of the game for the Highlanders in the second half during the 60th minute of play.
UCR had all but secured the victory until their defense collapsed in the final eight seconds of the game which allowed Denver’s sophomore forward Camryn Macmillan to score the game-tying goal.
Although Denver managed to tie up the game in the final seconds of regulation, UCR senior goalkeeper Annie Bailey kept the Pioneers from stealing the game from the Highlanders with her efforts in the overtime period. Denver senior midfielder Hannah Adler attempted a game-winning goal in the final minutes of overtime but Bailey was able to prevent the goal and obtain her fourth save of the game.
“Our defense is a team effort,” Gonzalez stated. “We just weren’t composed enough to understand that we were in control and we didn’t have to jump in the midfield to try and do something that someone else probably could have done. We just over committed and we lost that battle in the moment.”
Up next, UCR will travel to Irvine on Oct. 3 to face off against UC Irvine (1-9) before heading back home on Oct. 6 to battle against Cal State Northridge (6-2-3).
