SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State women's soccer team won its home opener on Thursday with a 3-1 victory over visiting Northwest Nazarene.
SF State (2-1-0) took the lead in the 27th minute thanks to senior
Laura Shea's third goal of the season.
Samantha Craig dribbled through the left side of the box and spun back, then passed to Shea, who finished to the far post as she fell down with a defender on her.
The Crusaders (2-2-0) tied the match in the 59 minute on a goal from Ashley Cook-Cox, who settled the ball in a scrum at the top of the box and finished to her right.
The match appeared headed for overtime but a foul near the midfield proved costly for NNU.
Janessa Staab set up on the left side for the free kick and placed a perfect ball into the box, where
Vanessa Penuna finished it to the right side of the goal. Crusaders goalie Daniele Ortiz jumped and was unable to come down in time for the stop.
Bianca Lowe put the game out of reach in the final minute with an unassisted goal. The redshirt senior's point-blank shot hit goalkeeper Daniele Ortiz, whose save attempt turned into a goal as the ball glanced back and rolled past the goal line.
"We gave them a couple of good chances to actually win the game but it shows resilience and grit from our team," said Head Coach
Tracy Hamm. "It doesn't matter what the situation is, we're trying to stick to the game plan. We put away a very nice set piece and took advantage of the opportunity."
The Gators outshot the Crusaders 11-8 and placed six of those on goal. NNU took four shots on goal. Freshman
Nicki Rucki made three saves and picked up her second win of the season.
SF State will host Bridgeport on Monday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. The Purple Knights were 18-4-0 a season ago but are off to a 1-2-0 start. They will head to Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday before their visit to Cox Stadium. Live video and stats will be available at
sfstategators.com. In-game updates will be available on Twitter at
@sfstate_wsoc.
