Back line stands strong as UC Merced women’s soccer plays to draw

Nothing puts a defense on its heels like a direct attack.

Hope International kicked that up a notch on Thursday afternoon. As soon as the ball turned over, the Royals moved it up the field with pace, while searching for passes behind the UC Merced defense. Throw in temperatures in the low 90s, two 10-minute overtime periods and an uncharacteristically sloppy performance from the Bobcats midfield and it paints a picture of the kind of afternoon the Merced back line had at Lake Field.

But there’s a reason the UC Merced defense ranked in the top five nationally a year ago. The quintet of Desiree Coles, Sydney Lund, Roxy Barragan, Kelsey McLaurin and Tori Mollard stayed organized and kept the speedy Hope International attack relatively at bay. It took a 35-yard laser into the upper ninety on a free kick just before halftime to get past the unit as the Bobcats settled for a 1-1 draw in their home opener.

“When a team plays that direct, you know you’re in for a long day,” Lund said. “It’s definitely an exhausting kind of team to play against. I felt like we communicated well and made sure we always had someone over the top backing us up. I’m personally just coming back from injury, so I know I’m tired.

“It’s a game we probably should have won, but we got a point. Excellent free kicks like that are just going to happen sometimes. It’s part of the game.”

UC Merced (2-1-2) recently returned home from a long trip to Oregon and was playing its third game in seven days. The schedule seemed to take its toll as the Royals (1-0-1) set the tone in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Bobcats 9-4.

Leigha Williams had the game’s first clear-cut chance when a through ball got her in behind the Bobcats defense in the 20th minute, but she pulled her shot wide. Jazzmyn Esquivel headed a ball off of the left post seven minutes later. Despite Hope International’s threats, Merced goalkeeper Maggie Morales only had to make two saves in the first half.

The Bobcats opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, completely against the run of play.

Sensing she needed a change, UC Merced coach Megan Atoigue subbed in Bridget Villanueva and Abbie-Leigh Menses up top. They made an almost instant impact.

Veronica Villcorta feathered a pass down the right wing into the path of a sprinting Villanueva. The sophomore striker drove hard into the corner and drilled a line drive across the Royals’ 18-yard box. Elizabeth Cruz got on the other end of the cross, outrunning her defender and heading a ball to the far post to make it 1-0.

Menses almost doubled the lead four minutes later, sprinting past the Royal back line on a chip over the top. Royals goalkeeper Jacqueline Talley charged out of her net to cut down Menses’ angle. The junior tried to one-time past the closing keeper, but pushed her shot just wide.

“That was the hope when we subbed,” Atoigue said. “We needed a spark after 20 minutes of nothing. We just didn’t play as well as we should have. We didn’t play our style, gave up balls too easily and just didn’t play with enough intensity. That’s a game we should have won, but we’ll learn from it and use it to get us ready for league.”

The Royals tied it just before halftime when Williams drilled a free kick from 35 yards out. The rocket beat Morales to the top corner of the near post to make it 1-1.

The Royals had the two best chances to win the game in the second half and overtime.

Ashley Bennett made a penetrating run down the left wing and fired a shot from just outside the corner of the 18 that rang the woodwork in the 84th minute. Daisy Bonilla had a chance to end it with five minutes left in the second sudden-death overtime, getting in behind the Royals defense for one of the few times all afternoon. With only Talley to beat, Bonilla fired her shot into the keeper’s chest.

“There’s a lot of factors that went into today’s performance,” Barragan said. “The heat, the travel, three games in a couple days. Honestly, we’re just not connecting as a team right now. People are playing hard, but we’re not working together and that’s what we have to get back to.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Back line stands strong as UC Merced women’s soccer plays to draw."