| No. 3 seed Cal Poly 2, No. 6 seed Hawai'i 1 |
BOX SCORE | CP PRESSER | UH PRESSER
San Luis Opispo, Calif. - In a thrilling first-round encounter of the 2023 Big West Women's Soccer Championship, hosted at the picturesque Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo, Calif., third-seeded Cal Poly (9-7-3) and sixth-seeded
Hawai'i (5-8-3) clashed in a high-octane battle that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.
The match kicked off with a bang just 41 seconds in when sophomore
Emily Lieber of Cal Poly found the back of the net, marking the forward's first goal of the season. The goals accoutns as the fourth-fastest goal recorded in Cal Poly program history.
The Mustangs continued their offensive onslaught, and in the 38th minute, junior midfielder Peja Balanon scored her second goal of the season, brilliantly assisted by freshman midfielder
Sophia Minnite.
Despite Cal Poly's dominance in the first half, Hawai'i managed to regroup, and in the 66th minute, junior defender
Mia Foster netted her sixth goal of the season, thanks to an assist from junior defender
Jacey Jicha.
The game was marked by Cal Poly's aggressive attacking play, as evident from their 14 shots, seven of which were on frame. Hawai'i on the other hand, showcased resilience, managing to capitalize on their limited opportunities.
Junior goalkeeper
Makenzie Samuel stopped three shots while senior netminder
Sophie Augustin recorded five saves in the opening round of the 2023 Big West Women's Soccer Championship.
Up next, the Mustangs will face No. 2 UC Davis in 2023 Big West Women's Soccer Championship Semi-Final round at 4:30 p.m. on campus of Cal State Fullerton at Titan Staidum.
Hawai'i's season comes to a close.
| No. 5 seed UC Irvine 0, No. 4 seed Long Beach State 0 (2OT) (UC Irvine Advances on PK, 4-1) |
BOX SCORE | UCI Presser | LBSU Presser
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- No. 5 seed
UC Irvine advanced out of the opening round of the 2023 Big West Women's Soccer Championship by edging out No. 4 seed
Long Beach State in penalty kicks 4-1 Sunday night at George Allen Field. The contest officially goes down as a 0-0 draw.
In a tight defensive stalemate, neither team could find the back of the cage in 90 minutes regulation or in 20 minutes of overtime. The Anteaters had 14 shots with seven on-goal, while the Beach mustered 10 with four on-goal. UC Irvine goalkeeper
Glo Hinojosa recorded four saves and Long Beach State's
Zora Standifer compiled seven stops in the 110-minute battle.
The Anteaters went first in the penalty kick shootout and made all four attempts from
Tati Fung,
Laila El Behery,
Erin Covery and
Marissa LeVine. The Beach missed their first two attempts as Hinojosa got a hand on the first and the second attempt hit the post.
Maddy Perez's kick was true to put Long Beach State on the board, but LeVine sealed it with a shot to the lower-left corner.
Up next, the Anteaters (6-7-6) will face top-seeded and regular-season champion Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals of the 2023 Big West Women's Soccer Championship at 7:30 p.m. at Titan Staidum.
Long Beach State's season comes to a close with a 10-6-4 record.