SeaLion forward Nikki Petracca chips the ball over the onrushing Ajax goalkeeper for San Diego's first goal in their 5-1 home opener win.

Women's Soccer News: San Diego SeaLions Defeat Ajax America Women in WPSL Action

Former SeaLion and Current USWNT Defender Rachel Buehler on Hand for Home Opener

The San Diego SeaLions picked up where they left off in 2011 by winning their home opener 5-1 over the visiting Ajax America Women. Midfielder Rosie Tantillo netted a second-half hat trick and goalkeeper Kaycee Gunion earned an assist on the final goal of the game. San Diego also welcomed back former SeaLion and current U.S. Women’s National Team defender Rachel Buehler, who took part in pregame activities.

Before the game Buehler, who played with the SeaLions during her final years at Stanford, met with fans and signed autographs. Dozens of girls, and a few boys, brought soccer balls, jerseys and other items for Buehler to sign, along with her advice to “Dream Big.” One girl even celebrated her birthday by having her soccer hero sign her forehead.

“I’m excited to be here with the SeaLions today,” Buehler said, “and I think it’s a great opportunity to be here and give back to the organization because they were important in my development.”

Marlene Abrew, from the San Marcos Soccer Club, came dressed in a red U.S. Soccer jersey and carrying a second one for an autograph. She admitted to being very excited about meeting Buehler. “Oh, my God, I was just telling [my friends] I can’t stop saying ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.’ Her signature and [Landon] Donavan’s and I’m all set to go. It’s really exciting and I’m glad to see her here and supporting the SeaLions. We support them as well. And we actually all play. We’re very excited. It’s good to see a San Diego native coming up in the ranks. It’s so good to see a woman doing this. We’re very excited to have her here.”

Rachel Buehler poses with some of the many fans who came to meet their soccer hero at the San Diego SeaLions home opener.	Dozens of fans lined up before the San Diego SeaLions home opener, and again at halftime, to meet U.S. Women's National Team defender Rachel Buehler.

“It’s pretty amazing, actually,” said Cynthia Serrato who plays with the Oceanside Breakers U-16 team. “I just watched a couple of her games. It’s really cool that she’s here signing autographs and taking pictures with everybody.”

Brooke Russell, a defender on the Manchester U-14 girls’ team, and her mother were two of many in line to meet their soccer hero. Decked out in a white U.S. Soccer shirt, the young athlete had another reason to admire Buehler. “It’s really inspirational because she was pre-med at Stanford and I want to be a doctor,” said Brooke, “so I look up to her. It’s really cool.”

“I’m looking for role models for my daughter,” said her mother, Laura Russell, who attended Stanford, “and there couldn’t be a better role model than Rachel. We’re so pleased to be here.”

“It was incredible how many fans were out here today and excited to see the SeaLions and get autographs,” Buehler said later. “It was a really fun day. I think San Diego is one of the best soccer cities in the nation. I may be slightly biased, being from here, but we have elite clubs, we have a great fan base and we have some great soccer college teams. I think we really do have something special here for soccer, and it’s definitely growing.”

During the pre-game ceremonies the SeaLions welcomed Buehler and bid farewell to a current member of the team, Kristin Laraway, who had just received orders from the U.S. Navy. Laraway had played two games with the SeaLions and had looked forward to possibly playing more before her assignment.

SeaLions defender Sarah Aguilar presents Kristen Laraway with a signed and framed team poster as a farewell gift.	U.S. Women's National Team defender Rachel Buehler waves to the crowd during pregame ceremonies.

“It was really awesome,” Laraway said of her time with the team. “I’m really glad Jen [head coach Jen Lalor-Nielsen] afforded me the opportunity to play, even for the short time I was here. She knew I wasn’t able to make a full commitment to the team. She was great and the girls were super welcoming, even though I was only here for a short period. Hopefully when my duty is done and I come back, Jen will let me work out with the team and continue playing and hopefully be a part of the SeaLions family.”

SeaLions goalkeeper Kaycee Gunion punches out an Ajax shot on goal in the first half.

When the game began San Diego went immediately on the attack, pushing deep into Ajax territory repeated times. The visitors refused to buckle under pressure, though, and cleared the ball time and again, but were unable to mount an effective counter-attack.

Then in the 24th minute forward Nikki Petracca broke through the Ajax defense and chipped the ball over the head of the onrushing goalkeeper. The shot sailed into the net, giving the SeaLions a 1-0 lead, and Petracca celebrated by “flying” across the field back to her teammates.

Six minutes later, though, it was Ajax’s turn to celebrate. A yellow card on Tantillo gave the visitors a free kick in San Diego’s end. In a frustrating turn of events, a mix-up and a deflection off a SeaLions defender sent the ball just out of reach of goal tender Kaycee Gunion.

The ball bounced into the net to even the score at 1-1. Minutes later the half ended and the teams went into halftime tied.

Coach Lalor-Nielsen’s halftime talk clearly had an effect, as the SeaLions came out with renewed enthusiasm and fire. San Diego began to take control, and in the 55th minute Tantillo picked up the first of her three goals on an assist from defender Sarah Devine.

“Devine hit a great ball into space,” Tantillo explained. “I saw Shelby [Murphy] in front of me and told her to let it go, and I just hit it on frame.” That goal would open the floodgates for San Diego, with Tantillo picking up her next two off free kicks.

A young fan celebrates her birthday with a forehead autograph from USWNT defender Rachel Buehler at the San Diego SeaLions home opener.

The final goal came on an alert play by Gunion with 21 minutes left to play. While bringing the ball up to the 20-yard mark unchallenged, the SeaLions’ goalkeeper noticed that the Ajax back line had moved up close to midfield and that speedy forward Britney Bennett was in position.

“I saw ‘B’ and I know she’s fast,” said Gunion after the game, “and I thought, ‘I hope this one goes.’ So I hit it as hard as I could and it got up behind the defense and she did the rest. It felt good because of the goal I gave up earlier.”

“The first half it was a great game,” said Tantillo later.

“It was a battle, especially in the middle. They were tough, they came out strong. We put one away early but then we came back and gave them an own-goal. The second half our mentality was just to win, go out there and leave everything on the field.”

“I think for us it was a battle of wearing them down, and it took us about 75 minutes for that to happen,” said Lalor-Nielsen.

“So we kept with our game plan, which was keeping the ball, connecting the ball with passes, finding the rhythm, finding the seams. We knew that the goals were going to come as long as we stayed patient.”

The fans were not the only ones happy to have Buehler present for the home opener. Lalor-Nielsen, who played beside the Buehler with the SeaLions in 2007, was pleased to have her former teammate on hand. “It was awesome, amazing, and great for the atmosphere and the game and for people to acknowledge that she is actually from San Diego,” Lalor-Nielsen said. “we are overwhelmed and overjoyed that she is still a part of what we are doing here.”

“It was cool having someone from a higher rank come back to her home town,” said Gunion, “and she’s even come out to practices with us before. It’s exciting, and she’s so humble, so it’s nice to have her.”

San Diego will take the next week to prepare for an away match against Beach Fútbol Club on Saturday, June 9. Their next home game will be an exhibition match against Blues on Saturday, June 16, followed by a Sunday home match against LA Vikings.

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