UC Merced women’s soccer ready to defend turf in Cal Pac Tournament

Megan Atoigue knew the template was in place.

Defense carried her UC Merced women’s soccer team in the 2014 season, and she returned her entire back four and the California Pacific Conference Defender of the Year in goalkeeper Maggie Morales.

Still, even with all signs pointing toward the unit being even better this season, Atoigue couldn’t have anticipated the season the group would turn in. The Bobcats yielded just seven goals in 17 games, the third-lowest total in the nation. Merced has allowed more than one goal in a game just once and has only trailed for 55 minutes this season.

The stalwart defense helped the Bobcats earn the top seed in the Cal Pac Conference Tournament and the No. 21 NAIA ranking in the nation. The group will look to keep posting zeros when it opens the tournament against No. 4 Soka University today at 11 a.m. at Lake Field.

“The way the girls have played has been amazing,” Atoigue said. “Especially because things started a little rocky on defense. We lost one of our returning center backs, Kelsey McLaurin, to an ACL injury. Sydney (Lund) has done a great job filling in, especially for a freshman. She might make us even stronger back there because she’s so good on balls in the air. We really didn’t have the presence before.”

Lund paired with senior Desiree Coles in the middle, flanked by Malaysia Avery and Roxy Barragan on the outside. Despite the loss of a two-year starter at the end of September, the team didn’t skip a beat.

The Bobcats (12-2-3, 7-1-2 Cal Pac) have yielded just three goals in their last nine games, going 7-0-2 over that span.

“We just work really hard together,” Coles said. “We expect a lot of ourselves, and we push each other. We feel like we’re the backbone of the team and the rest of the girls feed off of when we’re playing well.”

As good as the back four has been, a team doesn’t post a .41 goals-allowed per-game average without a group commitment to the back end. Having a keeper who’s ranked second in the nation (.31 goals allowed) doesn’t hurt either.

“The midfield does a good job delaying passes,” Lund said. “They get a deflection or they make the other player take an extra step. One or two seconds can make a big difference for us.

“It helps knowing Maggie is back there, too. If you make a mistake, she can bail you out.”

The Bobcats are set to take on the team that handed them their only conference loss, a 1-0 overtime victory for Soka (6-11, 4-6) on Sept. 25. UCM avenged that loss with a 1-0 victory in Aliso Viejo on Oct. 25. No. 2 Embry-Riddle will take on No. 3 Marymount California in the other semifinal at 2 p.m. The championship match is Saturday at 2 p.m.

“The tournament is really up for grabs,” Atoigue said. “All four teams are really close, and anyone can beat anyone. Soka has a very good goalie that we, unfortunately, have not done a good job beating. They have one really strong player up top and tend to play a lot of direct balls.

“I think the girls are nervous and feeling a little pressure from being the top seed, but they’re excited for this opportunity, too.”

The men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams also open the Cal Pac Tournament today.

Men’s soccer earned the top seed in the Cal Pac North and will take on South No. 2 Embry-Riddle at 2 p.m. at L.A. Harbor College in Wilmington. The volleyball team placed third in the Cal Pac and will get No. 2 La Sierra at 8 p.m. in Riverside.

Men’s water polo – Merced College earned the No. 5 seed in the NorCal Regionals and will open against No. 4 American River at 10 a.m. Friday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. The first round of the six-team tournament is single elimination. The format is double elimination for the final four Saturday..

Merced (18-10) and American River split two games during the regular season. The tournament finalists advance to the CCCAA State Championship on Nov. 20-21 in Pasadena.

Women’s basketball – Merced College is set to open its annual Coca-Cola Shootout on Thursday against De Anza at 7 p.m.

The eight-team tournament is comprised of some of California’s top-ranked schools, including NorCal No. 3 Fresno City, No. 8 Foothill, No. 9 Santa Rosa and SoCal No. 9 Cypress.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 9:55 AM with the headline "UC Merced women’s soccer ready to defend turf in Cal Pac Tournament."