College Soccer News: Cal Poly Continues on Top of Big West Women’s Soccer Standings
Another 2-0 week helped Cal Poly (4-0-0/7-5-1) remain on top of the Big West Conference Women’s Soccer standings, with UC Irvine (3-1-0/7-8-0) close behind after going 1-1. Meanwhile, Hawai’i (1-2-0/6-6-2) picked up their first conference win while Cal State Fullerton (3-1-0/6-7-0) jumped from No. 6 to No. three after their own 2-0 week.
Cal Poly made a strong statement in support of their conference-leading record as they defeated 2011 regular-season champion UC Irvine 2-1 in overtime on Friday, October 5. The Mustangs then took down 2011 Big West Tournament champion Long Beach State (2-2-0/9-5-0) on Sunday, October 7, with a come-from-behind 4-3 win in double overtime. With a win over visiting Cal State Northridge (2-1-0/5-4-4) on Friday, October 12, Cal Poly will match their best conference start ever, a 5-0 opening in 2002.
After losing to Cal Poly, UC Irvine wasted no time returning to the win column with a 3-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara (0-3-1/3-9-2) on Sunday. The Anteaters will make a run for the top this week as they visit Pacific (0-2-1/3-8-1) on Friday and UC Davis (2-1-0/7-5-1) on Sunday, October 14.
Sisters Erica Mazeau and JeAnne Mazeau were the deciding factors in Fullerton’s two victories on the week. On Friday, younger sister Erica fed JeAnne for the winning goal just 58 seconds into overtime as the Titans defeated Northridge 1-0. On Sunday, Erica notched the deciding goal in a 1-0 double-overtime win over Hawaii. Looking ahead, the Mazeaus will lead a well-rested Fullerton against visiting UC Riverside (0-4-0/5-8-2) on Sunday.
While Long Beach State was unable to hold on to an early lead against Cal Poly, the week was not a total disappointment. On Friday, the 49ers held off UC Riverside for a 2-1 win to improve their conference record to .500. Senior Nadia Link has been a force for Long Beach during her career, with 30 goals scored and 79 total career points. She ranks third on the 49ers all-time record book in goals and is just 5 short of reaching the conference top-10 list. She is also in reach of conference top-10 for both assists (19) and career points.
Hawai’i had reason to celebrate after their 1-1 week. The Rainbow Wahine defeated visiting Riverside 2-0 for their first-ever Big West Conference victory on Friday. Their loss to Fullerton on Sunday was disappointing, but holding the Titans scoreless into double overtime was an achievement worth noting. This week Hawaii will take to the road again as they visit UC Santa Barbara on Friday and Cal Poly on Sunday.
While their 1-0 overtime loss to Fullerton was disheartening, Cal State Northridge did not let that keep them down. On Sunday the Matadors came back behind the strong work of goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo to beat Riverside 3-1. Jacobo has racked up 253 saves over her career, 10 short of making the conference top-10 list. Her 21 career shutouts put her at No. 10 all-time in the Big West and her 5,282 minutes rank her No. 7.
In the only game of the week for both teams, UC Davis took a 3-2 over Pacific (0-2-1/3-8-1) on Friday. The win was enough to help the Aggies move up to No. 4 in the conference. This week UC Davis will host Long Beach State on Friday and UC Irvine on Sunday, with their sights set on closing in on the top slot. Pacific will see the same two schools on opposite days.
It was an extremely good week for Cal Poly. Not only did the team take two wins to remain atop the conference, but freshman Sara Epps (Santa Maria, Calif./St. Joseph’s HS) was named Big West Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. It was the second straight honor for a Mustang player, following Elise Krieghoff’s award on October 3.
Epps led the Mustangs’ comeback win over Long Beach State, scoring in the 73rd minute off a deflection to tie the match at 2-2. Less than ten minutes later, Epps assisted on the go-ahead goal when she fed Krieghoff for a one-on-one against the 49ers goalie. After Long Beach tied the game shortly before regulation ended, Epps notched the winning goal midway through the second overtime period.
Cal State Fullerton goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic earned Big West Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts in the Titan’s two road wins. Maricic stopped five shots on frame in each match as Fullerton took identical 1-0 wins over Cal State Northridge and Hawaii. The five saves were her best of the season as she faced a total of 12 shots from Northridge and 16 from Hawaii. The effort lowered her goals against average to 0.97 as she earned her third and fourth shutouts of the season. Maricic has not allowed a goal since the first half of a September 30 match against Long Beach State.
2012 Big West Women’s Soccer Players of the Week
Offensive
|
Date
|
Player
|
Team
|
Year
|
|
Aug. 20
|
Stephanie Galarze
|
CSUN
|
Senior
|
|
Aug. 27
|
Tiana Fujimoto
|
UH
|
Sophomore
|
|
Sept. 3
|
Valencia Heavily
|
UCR
|
Sophomore
|
|
Sept. 10
|
Ann Marie Tangorra
|
CSF
|
Senior
|
|
Sept. 17
|
Eileen Maes
|
LBSU
|
Junior
|
|
Sept. 24
|
Sasha Moscatello
|
PAC
|
Sophomore
|
|
Oct. 1
|
Elise Kreieghoff
|
CP
|
Freshman
|
|
Oct. 8
|
Sara Epps
|
CP
|
Freshman
|
Defensive
|
Date
|
Player
|
Team
|
Year
|
|
Aug. 20
|
Cynthia Jacobo
|
CSUN
|
Senior
|
|
Aug. 27
|
Alex Balcer
|
LBSU
|
Senior
|
|
Sept. 3
|
Makenna Henry
|
UCSB
|
Junior
|
|
Sept. 10
|
Cynthia Jacobo
|
CSUN
|
Senior
|
|
Sept. 17
|
Paige Gankema
|
UCSB
|
Junior
|
|
Sept. 24
|
Marrina Meyers
|
LBSU
|
Senior
|
|
Oct. 1
|
Cynthia Jacobo
|
CSUN
|
Senior
|
|
Oct. 8
|
Lindsey Maricic
|
CSF
|
Junior
|
Related Article: Big West Women’s Soccer News for October 3, 2012
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