FULLERTON, Calif. - Gonzaga University women's soccer had a goal scored against it for the first time in 296 minutes and multiple goals against it for the first time in eight matches as Cal State Fullerton squeaked out a 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Titan Soccer Stadium in Fullerton, Calif.
Chelsey Patterson scored her first goal of the season for the Titans at 28:10 to break the scoreless tie and Janali West tallied her first goal and the match-winner at 73:08. Patterson's goal against the Bulldogs was the first against sophomore goalkeeper Christie Tombari and the Bulldogs since the University of Washington scored a goal in the 30th minute of a 1-0 victory, Sept. 20.
"Give credit to Cal State Fullerton, they are a quality team," stated Gonzaga head coach Amy Edwards after the match. "We didn't match their intensity in the beginning, they got a goal and we had to fight back for the equalizer. We were punished for our lack of mental focus."
Gonzaga and Cal State Fullerton each had forced the others goalkeeper to save two shots before the Titans finally broke through. Patterson had received a long ball on the right flank from teammate Colleen Ortega and, five feet from the end line, she bent in a shot that went over the outstretched hands of Tombari into the left corner of the goal.
Cal State Fullerton closed out the first 45 minutes with the slight 4-2 edge in shots and held the 6-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Sophomore reserve Sila Tuiofea changed the course of the match when she tallied her first goal of the season and fourth career goal to tie match in the 71st minute. The forward/midfielder blocked Titan goalkeeper Jennifer Stuart's clear attempt; with the deflection finding sophomore Mikayla Anderson to the right of goal. Anderson got around the oncoming Stuart and passed the ball to Tuiofea who slid her shot into the open goal.
"Sila was a big spark of energy for us off the bench," explained Edwards of the Bulldogs goal scorer. "Today was her most consistent performance this season."
Unfortunately, West and Fullerton were able to break the tie a mere 2:37 later. Erica Mazeau got a cross off seconds before the ball would have went out of bounds on the right end line and, after a Titan player played dummy to the ball by letting it go through her legs, West was there to hammer home the match-winner.
Tuiofea nearly tied the match once again with 46 seconds left in the match. Freshman forward Karley Baggerly had won the ball on the right flank, made a move around her defender and placed a pass into the penalty area. Tuiofea slid to the ball and got a left footed shot off that skimmed right by the right post.
Cal State Fullerton finished the match with the 14-7 advantage in shots, including the 8-3 edge on shots on goal, and held the 10-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Tombari closed out the match making six saves; a career-high.
The Bulldogs are now 4-5-1 overall on the season, while the Titans moved to 5-3-3 on the year.
Gonzaga opens West Coast Conference next. After a weekend off, the Bulldogs begin league Friday, Oct. 11 at Pepperdine University and Sunday, Oct. 13 at Loyola Marymount University.
"This weekend was a very good experience for us going into conference," explained Edwards of the two-match road swing. "We will see the same thing when we start league. We will be in Los Angeles, playing a very good Pepperdine squad and a great match against LMU. We now have two weeks to work on putting together two very good performances on the road."
