No. 8 UCSD Women Blank No. 19 Sonoma State

October 1, 2016

LA JOLLA, Calif. - Eighth-ranked University of California San Diego blanked No. 19 Sonoma State, 2-0, in a women's soccer matchup with giant postseason implications in the West Region, under Friday night lights at Triton Soccer Stadium.

The contest pitted the reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament champion Tritons and the defending CCAA regular-season victor Sonoma State. The teams had last met in the 2015 CCAA tourney semifinals, when UC San Diego upset the top-seeded Seawolves, 3-0, in Pomona en route to a record ninth banner. SSU was unbeaten over its last 17 (15-0-2) league tilts back to 2014.

With a fourth consecutive victory, UC San Diego improved to 7-2 overall and a still-perfect 3-0 in the CCAA. Sonoma State fell to 6-2-1 overall and 4-1 in league play. The Seawolves had won six straight coming in, out-scoring opponents 12-2.

Fifth-year senior and co-captain Kiera Bocchino opened the scoring at the 11:24 mark. Sophomore forward Mary Reilly (Chula Vista/Hilltop HS), the CCAA Player of the Week, played a ball over the top that junior teammate Jordyn McNutt (San Diego/University City HS) headed down toward the top of the penalty area. Bocchino's right-footed shot from there took a deflection off of a Seawolf defender and wrong-footed senior goalkeeper Allison Hadidian, finding the back of the net.

The goal was Bocchino's fourth, with Reilly and McNutt's assists their CCAA-leading sixth and fifth, respectively.

McNutt then doubled the advantage at the 50:56 mark, notching her third of the year from the penalty spot after a Sonoma State defender was whistled for a hand ball in the area. It was her first spot kick of 2016 and third of her career, all makes.

Senior Itzel Gonzalez finished with two saves in the Triton net for her fifth individual shutout of 2016. Hadidian had four stops for the Seawolves.

The Tritons out-shot SSU, 13-6. Brie Diaz almost made it 2-0 just 31 seconds before McNutt's goal, but Hadidian made an exceptional reflex save of the junior central midfielder's left-footed effort, out to a corner kick. In the 62nd minute, Bocchino's shot hit the right post following a right-sided Reilly cross.

UC San Diego hosts Humboldt State (2-7-1, 1-3-1 CCAA) this Sunday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m. The contest will conclude a doubleheader with the men (11:30 a.m.) at Triton Soccer Stadium. Parking and admission are free, with a live video stream, in high definition, on UCSDtritons.tv.

Triton Notes: UCSD has scored two or more goals in five successive games ... The Tritons are now at the exact midway point of their 18-game regular-season schedule ... Katie O'Laughlin had her second three-game goal-scoring streak of the season snapped ... The match marked just the second time this year that O'Laughlin and Mary Reillyboth did not score ... For a third straight game, the Tritons were without junior starting central midfielder Elisa Martinez (El Cajon/Francis Parker School), who is in Mexico City in training camp with the Mexico U-20 national team.

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