No. 11 UCSD Women Run Past CSUSM, 4-0

September 22, 2016

SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The 11th-ranked University of California San Diego women's soccer team got goals from four different players and downed Cal State San Marcos, 4-0, as the cross-county foes began their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedules Wednesday in The Cage.

UC San Diego improved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the CCAA. CSUSM, which started the day as the conference's only remaining unbeaten side, fell to 2-1-3 overall and 0-1 in league action.

The Tritons were on the scoreboard just 2:24 into the match. Kiera Bocchino tried to play a through ball down the middle. A Cougar defender got in the path of it, but was only able to guide it right into the trajectory of someone she would have wanted to avoid in the CCAA and West Region's leading scorer, that being Katie O'Laughlin. The junior striker out of Carlsbad (Pacific Ridge School) uncorked a right-footed blast from 25-plus yards away that was always headed for the upper left corner. It was her seventh already in her seventh game of 2016, an unassisted gem.

UCSD grabbed two more chances to double its advantage within the first 20 minutes, from the other half of its dynamic duo up top, but sophomore Mary Reilly (Chula Vista/Hilltop HS) had her first effort saved by senior CSUSM goalkeeper Erica Dory, and her second one go high of the target.

The Tritons had little difficulty clinching all three points over the final 45 minutes. Bocchino made it 2-0 in the 59th. Jordyn McNutt (San Diego/University City HS) played a deep ball over the top that sent O'Laughlin sprinting down the right flank. She played a cross along the ground toward the center, that nobody picked up on the defensive end, until Bocchino latched on at the far post, one-timing it left-footed for her third of the season. Assists went to O'Laughlin, her first, and McNutt.

In the 81st minute, junior Taylor Ramos (San Diego/Coronado HS) took a shot from distance that banged off the left post. Fourth-year senior Kristen Sampietro was first to the rebound, finding the empty net for 3-0. It was her first of 2016.

Kelsey Kimball came on moments after that third goal, and capped the scoring with the first of her college career at the 86:00 mark. The Thousand Oaks native made a great run into the center of the six-yard box and rose to nod home fellow sophomore Danielle Nunn's left-sided corner kick. The assist was Nunn's second.

Senior Itzel Gonzalez had two saves in goal for UCSD to notch her fourth individual clean sheet. The Tritons had let up scores in three straight after opening the year with three shutouts in a row. Dory wound up with three stops.

Having wrapped up a three-game road stretch, UC San Diego returns to home action this Sunday afternoon, Sept. 25, welcoming in Chico State. Kickoff at Triton Soccer Stadium is slated for 2 p.m., after the men's teams meet at 11:30 a.m. Admission and parking are free, with a live video stream, in high definition, on UCSDtritons.tv.

Triton Notes: UCSD is 3-0-1 in the all-time series, having traveled to San Marcos for the first time in program history ... The Cougars have still never scored on the Tritons, in 380 minutes ... Jordyn McNutt's assist was her team-leading fourth ... The Tritons were without junior central midfielder Elisa Martinez (El Cajon/Francis Parker School), who is in Mexico City in training camp with the Mexico U-20 national team ... The game was a homecoming for sixth-year Triton assistant coach Trent Painter, a former Cougar goalkeeper and 2011 Cal State San Marcos graduate.

#AllForOne