By Brian Roberts
10/17/09
Vanguard Masters The Mustangs
Costa Mesa, Calif---On Saturday night, Vanguard University Women’s Soccer, ranked sixth in the country, hosted NAIA No. 20 The Master’s College in a battle of two of the premier teams in the GSAC. The visitors from Santa Clarita boasted the top scoring squad in the GSAC for 2009, leading in both points and overall goals scored. However, the host Lions, led by All-GSAC goalkeeper Jill Foss, came into the contest on a six-game unbeaten streak and with the top goals-against average in the GSAC. With both teams fighting for position in the conference standings, something had to give. The Lions came out of the evening with a 4-1 victory to add to their collection this season.
As an unusually hot day gave way to a cold, foggy night, the atmosphere was set for the crucial game. Vanguard was on the attack from the start, challenging TMC goalkeeper Amanda DuRocher and the Mustang defense. Just seven minutes into the game, VU freshman forward Amanda Coach crossed the ball from the right corner, looking for a Lion teammate. Junior Danielle Dintino answered the call, taking the cross and beating DuRocher from the deep left corner of the box. The goal, Dintino’s fourth of the season, gave the Pride an early 1-0 lead.
Not satisfied with a one-goal cushion, the hosts continued to press the action. Keeping pressure on the TMC defense, the Lions looked to sneak another one into the net. Just past the twenty-minute mark, sophomore Gabriella Valles, the reigning NAIA "Player of the Week", won possession of the ball, made a nifty move over a Mustang defender, and drilled a shot past DuRocher into the top left corner of the nylon. The halftime buzzer sounded with the Lions holding the 2-0 lead, and with The Master’s offense completely stymied.
Despite the halftime break in the chilly air, VUSC remained red hot to start the second half. Just four minutes in, junior Karri Currier combined with Couch, pushing a fantastic through ball near the top of the box. Couch did the rest, knocking in her seventh goal of the season for a 3-0 VU lead.
Late in the contest, senior Heather Mauck also got in on the scoring action, taking an Ivana Mendez pass and chipping it over DuRocher’s outstretched arms to boost the lead to 4-0.
However, with just one minutes to go in the game, The Master’s forward Sierra Goff broke up the VU’s shutout bid with a header off a corner kick from Danielle Hollinger.
Foss, a senior captain for the Lions, did not face one shot in the first period of play, and only saw two shots on goal the entire game, saving one. Shutting down the high-powered Mustang offense, she recorded her tenth win of the 2009 season.
With the win, Vanguard pushes its unbeaten streak to seven games, and now has a record of 10-1-1, including a 4-1-1 mark in conference play. The Mustangs drop to 3-4 in conference, 10-4-1 overall.
The schedule does not get any easier for the Lions, as they host Point Loma Nazarene and then travel to Fresno Pacific next week. Both PLNU and FPU are receiving votes in the national poll, and could squeak into the top-25 in the country by next week. Game time for the Point Loma contest is 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21st.
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