Photos by Jovanni Arroyo-Camberos
Junior defender Hayden Kelley battles for the ball in last Friday’s Mountain West match-up against the UNLV Rebels at the Spartan Soccer Field.
The San Jose State women’s soccer team split its weekend conference matches with one win and one loss when they hosted the UNLV and the University of Nevada.
The Spartans lost their first matchup against the UNLV Rebels 1-0 in a tight played game that was mainly dominated in the middle of the field.
“I thought they came out flat in the first half, a lot of players did and we didn’t start the day in sync and I thought our attack was not very threatening in the first half and we didn’t finish our chances,” head coach Lauren Hanson said.
SJSU began the match dominating most of possession, having several chances to score but failed to capitalize on them. Senior midfielder Darlene Rodriguez had a one on one chance at the beginning of the game but was denied by Rebels goalkeeper, Jessie Clark, who ended the game with five saves.
“The game plan going in was to play hard and we are obviously still trying to work to search for our spot in the Mountain West Championship and today was just unfortunate and we were unable to finish our opportunities,” freshman defender Veronica Chung said.
SJSU fell behind in the first half when UNLV midfielder Denali Murnan scored a goal from inside the box in the 41st minute of the first half.
“Soccer is a game of breaks and they capitalized on their chances and we didn’t when it comes down to it,” senior defender Rachel Docherty said.
The Spartans outshot the Rebels 13–8 but could not find the net as the game winded down.
“We have to figure it out and start right and finish right and today we only played in the second half and that’s it and that’s the problem,” Hanson said.
Although the Spartans lost their first game of the weekend, they were able to bounce back with a 2-0 win over the Nevada Wolfpack on Sunday.
Goals from sophomore forward Dorthe Hoppius and senior defender Rachel Docherty helped the Spartans dominate the game and helped them clinch a spot in the Mountain West conference tournament.
“From here on out we need to stay positive and continue working and we need to have a team effort because we all have the same goal,” Chung said.
San Jose State (9-7-2) (7-3 MW) are now third in the Mountain West Conference standings and have only one game remaining in the season before the Spartans begin their conference tournament play.
The Spartans can clinch the second seed in the conference with the help of a win and a New Mexico loss next weekend.
“I think our goal is the same thing every game, it is to play well as a unit and as long as you work hard and play well we usually have that,” Docherty said.
The Spartans’ next home game is Friday Oct. 30 and they will host Fresno State at the Spartan Soccer Field at 2 p.m. The Mountain West tournament begins next Tuesday on Nov. 3
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