Fast start propels UC Merced women’s soccer into Cal Pac final

The UC Merced and Soka women’s soccer teams entered Thursday afternoon mentally prepared for a hard-fought, defensive battle.

Each team had secured a 1-0 victory over the other during the regular season, with dramatic goals coming in the 96th and 89th minutes.

So when pressure from the Bobcats resulted in a Soka own goal less than two minutes into Thursday’s California Pacific Conference Tournament semifinal, Megan Antoigue’s squad was understandably fired up. The Bobcats were beside themselves when Marissa Giovannoni doubled that tally just 11 minutes later. The fast start eased any would-be nerves and the Bobcats cruised into their first Cal Pac title game with a 4-2 victory at Lake Field.

Top-seeded Merced will square off with No. 2 Embry-Riddle in the title game on Saturday with an automatic bid into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament up for grabs. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Lake Field

“That start was crazy,” said junior center midfielder Daisy Bonilla. “I feel like the first goal set the tone for the entire game. Our level of play went from zero to 10 just like that.

“Then we scored again, back-to-back. It was a nice change, because it usually takes us about 20 minutes to get going. We felt like this one was ours to win from the beginning.”

Before the crowd had time to settle into their seats, the Bobcats (13-2-3) were on the board. A dangerous ball played into the box was inadvertently deflected into the net by a Lion defender and Merced led 1-0 1:03 into the game.

Before Soka (6-12) had time to recover from the initial shock, the Bobcats struck again.

Ashley Bennett beat her defender down the right wing and served a perfect cross into the far side of the 18-yard box and into the path of a sprinting Giovannoni. The senior striker didn’t hit it as cleanly as she would have hoped, but got enough on her shot to push it across the line.

UC Merced outshot Soka 8-1 in the opening half, but couldn’t expand the lead any further going into the break.

“Getting the early goal took a lot of the pressure off, but I was still nervous throughout the game,” Antoigue said. “I knew it wasn’t over. The girls got a little unfocused at halftime and we had to point out to them that we still had work to do.”

Antoigue’s concerns were realized when the Lions made it a game three minutes into the second half.

A well-designed set piece sparked a Soka offense that had produced nothing in the first 47 minutes. Zoe Witt drilled and ankle-high cross around the wall and into the middle of the 18. Rhea Hartwell managed to get a toe on the ball, bouncing it off of the post and in to trim the lead to 2-1.

The Bobcats showed no panic, answering back with goals in the 80th and 84th minutes to finish the game off.

Bonilla carved up the Soka defense with a penetrating run from the top of the 18, forcing a diving save from goalkeeper Alexis Houghton (four saves). The rebound bounced directly to Kat Rocker, who finished into an empty net. A Noelle Weber rocket from 20-yards out all but punched UCM’s ticket to the final less than three minutes later.

“We knew we had to get going again after they scored, but I wasn’t ever worried,” Bonilla said. “The way we played in that first half, I knew there wasn’t going to be a comeback. We didn’t put our heads down after the goal, we just kept doing what we’d been doing and now we get to play in the championship game.”

Men

UC Merced 2, Embry-Riddle 0 in Wilmington – Cody Golbad scored goals on each side of the break to help lead the Bobcats (12-4-1) to their first ever Cal Pac Championship game, to be played Saturday.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Fast start propels UC Merced women’s soccer into Cal Pac final."