Penalty kicks deny UC Merced Cal Pac women’s soccer title

It was a scenario the UC Merced women’s soccer team would take every time.

With the California Pacific Conference title at stake and the Bobcats needing a goal to extend the penalty shootout, Daisy Bonilla stepped up to the spot.

Merced’s leading scorer had produced the game’s two most dangerous chances in regulation and overtime, but neither side found the back of the net after 90 minutes of play and two 10-minute sudden-death overtimes Saturday afternoon.

With a couple of hundred fans clustered down the northwest sideline of Lake Field, Embry-Riddle’s Emilie Tarin put her team in front in the sixth round of the shootout. Bonilla needed to score to extend the match, but her shot was cradled by goalkeeper Emily Lambert. The save gave Embry-Riddle of Prescott, Ariz., a 5-4 victory, the Cal Pac title and an automatic bid in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament.

“You have no idea how much it hurts. This was our year,” midfielder Noelle Weber said. “We wanted it more than anybody, and it showed in the way we played today.

“We knew it was two very good teams coming in. We knew it could very possibly come down to penalty kicks. We’d spent the last couple weeks working on them. We were confident going into them, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”

It was a harsh finish in a match that the Bobcats (13-2-4) controlled throughout.

UCM outshot the Eagles (13-3-3) 18-10 and produced a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. Manufacturing something to trouble Lambert proved difficult, however.

The bulk of the opening 45 minutes was spent on Embry-Riddle’s side of the pitch, with UCM holding a 10-3 shot advantage at the break. The Eagles’ defense scrambled well, however, and routinely recovered to limit the danger in those opportunities.

UCM’s Marissa Giovannoni produced the game’s first good chance, forcing a leaping save from Lambert on a blast from distance 12 minutes in. The best chance of the half came in the 36th minute when Bonilla and Claudia Diaz worked a quick give-and-go into the 18-yard box. Bonilla sprinted onto the ball, but pulled her shot just wide.

“We just couldn’t get the right shot off,” Bobcats coach Megan Atoigue said. “We controlled the ball. We created chances. We just weren’t creating a lot of dangerous ones.

“Our defense had them pretty well contained for the whole game, but we just didn’t take advantage.”

Embry-Riddle opened the second half with a lot more energy, but struggled to break down the UC Merced back four. Goalkeeper Maggie Morales was called upon to make four saves in the game, all routine.

With both defenses dominating the final third of the pitch, penalty kicks seemed inevitable.

The Eagles went first and quickly got goals by Amie Jepsen and Breanna Larkin. The Bobcats countered with goals by Ashley Bennett and Desiree Coles, making it 2-2 after two rounds. Merced got the first break in the shootout when Morales turned aside a Krista Lee shot. Lambert answered with a save of her own, however, leaving things deadlocked.

Embry-Riddle thought it had won in the fifth round when Diaz had her shot saved, but Lambert was called for leaving her line early, giving Diaz another attempt. She made the most of it, scoring to extend PKs to the sixth and decisive round. Lambert wouldn’t be denied again, hauling in Bonilla’s shot to seal the victory.

“It’s hard because everybody on this team works so hard from the second they step on campus in the summer,” Coles said. “We’ve already got revenge on our minds for next year with almost everyone coming back.

“They can enjoy their victory today, because next year we’re coming for them.”

Men’s soccer

Marymount California 3, UC Merced 2 (2 OT) in Wilmington – Goals by Cody Golbad and David Esparza helped the Bobcats force overtime, but Niklas Kratzer’s double-overtime strike gave the Mariners the Cal Pac title for the second consecutive year.

Bernardo Garcia made two saves in the loss for Merced (13-5-1).

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Penalty kicks deny UC Merced Cal Pac women’s soccer title."