Miami Draws with SDSU, 1-1
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – On a hot and humid September night at Cobb Stadium, the University of Miami soccer team tallied a late goal to force overtime Saturday night against San Diego State.
However, neither team was able to record a goal in the extra 20 minutes of action, resulting in a 1-1 draw in the first ever matchup between the pair of programs.
The Hurricanes held the advantage through 110 minutes of action with 19 shots and eight shots on target compared to the Aztecs 11 shots and three on target but were unable to pull away.
“Obviously, we had two off of the crossbar in the first half and we created by far the better chances,” Miami head coach Sarah Barnes said. “Although to give up the penalty kick with very little time remaining in the half, it is just a tough situation to be in.
“Obviously, that can be demoralizing, but I thought the team responded well,” Barnes continued. “They didn’t put their heads down and they were pretty gritty in terms of fighting back.”
Making her first collegiate start in goal, freshman Melissa Dagenais collected her fifth save of the season off an attempt by Phoebe Leitch, the Aztecs only shot on goal in the opening 43:20 minutes of action.
In the 29th minute, senior forward Kristina Fisher finessed a shot towards the net, but the ball just missed off the crossbar
Nine minutes later, freshman forward Emma Tucker looked to place the Canes in front when she sent a blast from just outside of the 18-yard box that similar to Fisher’s attempt, ricocheted off the cross bar and landed at the right foot of junior forward Tia Dupont. The Sicklerville, N.J., native then took a touch before sending one towards the target, but watched as the ball barely lifted over the bar.
In the 44th minute, the aforementioned penalty kick was awarded following a corner kick when Melissa Dagenais looked to collect the ball and ran into an Aztec attacker.
Kiera Utush stepped up to the line and skimmed the ball past the diving finger tips of Dagenais, to send San Diego State into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
“Then you go into the second half and again, time after time, after time, you keep pushing and creating more chances. But the shots just go wide or the keeper makes a save,” Barnes said. “But again, they stayed at it. I give our team a lot of credit tonight for the commitment to fighting and persevering in a situation that can sometimes break a team. I thought we continued to create, which was outstanding.
“They exposed us a couple times and we are going to have to clean that up and be better,” Barnes continued. “For us, the biggest priority has to be focusing and executing in and around the box. The number of chances in which we created were just too good and clear of a chance to not come away with more goals. And that is a battle every team faces. We just have to be better to get the results that we want.”
In the second half, one of the many attempts by the Hurricanes that looked to even the match first came in the 53rd minute, when Dupont connected with Fisher who one timed it towards the upper ninety, but again the blast just missed the frame.
In the 84th minute, Dupont made a run with the ball down the far left sideline before pausing and looking up for any open teammates on the pitch. The junior spotted senior Bayleigh Chaviers in space on the opposite side of the pitch and quickly crossed a perfectly placed ball to the senior defender.
The Stephenville, Texas, native then took the ball to the corner flag before cutting back and blasting a shot to the far left corner of the target. Lifting over the outstretched hands of Brooke Lisowski, the ball curled into the back of the net, marking the senior’s first collegiate goal.
“I saw Tia cut in and she played it to me,” Chaviers said. “I honestly don’t know what I was thinking [at the time], but I took my defender on and just shot it. And it went in. It was a really cool feeling though, because it was my first career goal. So, I am just happy that I finally got one. But I definitely couldn’t have done it without the other players.”
Her fellow classmate Fisher then chimed in and made them both chuckle by saying, “I was ready at the back post for her, but I knew it was going in all along.”
When asked about the goal, Barnes credited Chaviers hard work in practice to the beautiful finish.
“They are a very high pressuring team and they do a great job of swarming around the ball,” Barnes said. “And because of that, the weak side was always open and that was something that we definitely talked about [prior to the match.]”
“I thought Tia did a great job of picking her head up and recognizing that Bayleigh had miles of space and delivered a great ball. It is also a play that we worked a lot on with Bayleigh over the spring, where she cuts back on the inside and shapes the ball to the far post,” Barnes continued. “It is a difficult spot to execute at and there has been a lot of training sessions where she was very frustrated with herself. So, it was pretty spectacular for her to be able [to execute on it]. She only got one shot at it tonight and she nailed it. There were times in training where it took 20 [attempts] for her to make one like that. I am proud of her. It shows what working hard and staying focused, even when you are failing, does and when the moments right in a game you pull it off.”
In the 86th minute, sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Speaks made her 11th save of the season and only save of the match, when she stretched out to knock away an attempt by McKenna Wallace to prevent the goal-scoring opportunity.
In overtime, the Hurricanes outshot the Aztecs, 4-0, with a pair of shots on target, but were unable to pull away.
Miami will look to get back to its winning ways Thursday night at 7 p.m. when the Hurricanes host Stetson at Cobb Stadium. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
