While most students were off partying or trick-or-treating on Halloween night, the Chico State women’s soccer team played under the lights, defeating Cal State Monterey Bay 2-0.
Led by scores from senior midfielder Hannah Pieri and senior forward Jiana Martin, the ‘Cats shut out the Otters in an impressive defensive showing.
Flawlessly executing their game plan, the ‘Cats dominated with an aggressive defensive approach, tallying six fouls with zero cards, while holding the Otters to only six shots.
“We figured out what players they targeted most of scoring passes to throughout the season, and we made sure to mark them on defense,” freshman goalkeeper Kennedy Briseño said. “We did our research, and we mainly were trying to build a fortified wall against them. I believe it worked well since we got a shutout.”
Briseño protected the ‘Cats goal flawlessly, recording five saves as she led their defense.
The ‘Cats came to play on both sides of the ball on Friday. Coach Sutton’s teams always have a strong focus on defense, but their offense was also impressive.
In the 37th minute, the ‘Cats were passing the ball dangerously near their opponent’s goal. Senior midfielder Alexia Chavez sent the ball to her teammate, Pieri, who was dashing through defenders towards the goal.
Pieri slashed the ball through the air, aiming for the far left corner of the goal. Flying out of reach of the goalkeeper, Pieri hit her mark, finding the back of the net to put the ‘Cats in the lead 1-0.
“It all happened in the moment, I know Lex likes to cut back and she’s good at finding gaps to pass through,” Pieri said. “I kept running through the defense and trusted that she would find me in that moment, and she absolutely did.”
A cutback is a type of pass made by an attacker from near the opponent’s goal line, back into the central area of the field, typically to teammates positioned closer to the penalty spot.
The ‘Cats offense was still hungry after the first score, and in the 77th minute, more chaos unfolded near the goal.
In a blur of uniforms, senior midfielder Jiana Martin found herself with possession of the ball and an open path to the goal. All she needed was one tap as she finessed the ball around the goalkeeper, striking the inside of the right goalpost for a second ‘Cats score.
Despite seven shots on goal, two scores were all the ‘Cats needed to hold on for the win, thanks to their shutdown defense.
“Our whole strategy revolved around coming out strong and playing with a lot of energy,” Pieri said. “We wanted to come out really intensely in the first ten minutes. Even though we didn’t score early, the pressure we put on them tired them out quickly and helped us take the momentum.”
With the win, the ‘Cats have now locked in their spot at the CCAA Championship tournament, sitting in first place.
“I feel so proud of us for this,” Briseño said. “At the beginning of the season, there were some ups and downs, but we toughed it out as a team to get where we are now.”
While the seeding isn’t set, one more ‘Cats win could secure them the one-seed, depending on the outcome of other games in the conference.
The ‘Cats play next at Chabot College Soccer Field on Sunday at 2 p.m.to face the Cal State East Bay Pioneers, who are currently in ninth place in the CCAA.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Aiyana Curry can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
