San Diego women beat Marquette

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Freshman forward Brittany Held scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute of action to propel the 14th-ranked University of San Diego women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over Marquette University in the first game of the Minnesota Gold Classic.

With time in the overtime period running out, senior midfielder Jackie Zinke crossed the ball to Held, who corralled the pass and took a shot from the left side of the box, and it slipped in off the far post to give the Toreros the win.

With the victory, USD remains perfect on the season, as they move to 4-0-0, while the Golden Eagles fall to 2-2-1 on the young season, suffering their second consecutive overtime loss.

Junior goalkeeper Courtney Parsons pitched her third shutout of the season, facing 27 shots on the afternoon, with 13 of those on frame, but Parsons proved to be a stone wall as she recorded a career-high 12 saves in picking up the win.  Her counterpart, Natalie Kulia, was saddled with the loss for the Golden Eagles, as she allowed one goal and picked up three saves.

USD was outshot in the match 29-7, and Marquette had an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.

The Toreros will return to action on Sunday with an 11:00 a.m. (PT) match against the host University of Minnesota.