University of San Francisco women’s soccer team suffered a heartbreaking loss against the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears on Monday Sept. 30. The final score of the game was Cal 3, San Francisco 0. The Don’s endured 23 shots on goal by the Golden Bears, who spent the majority of the game attacking the Don’s defense. San Francisco managed to place 11 shots on goal, but spent most of the game trying to keep the ball away from their net. It was an unfortunate loss for USF, who begins West Coast Conference play next week against St. Mary’s.
The Dons also suffered a loss against the Long Beach State 49ers last Thursday, Sept. 26. Long Beach State won the defensive battle, defeating San Francisco 1-0. Throughout the season, the Dons have relied on their defense to control games. Prior to the match against Long Beach State, San Francisco’s defense was ranked 37th in the nation in goals scored against. That is an impressive statistic for the Dons, who hope to make it to the NCAA women’s soccer tournament.
Both teams began the game on the attack, trying to gain the upper-hand early in the match. San Francisco had two corner kicks within the first 15 minutes of the game, but was unable to score on either. The game would remain tied at 0-0 between the two defensively-minded teams until the final minutes of the match.
Long Beach State managed to score a goal on the Dons’ defense late in the game. It was in the 86th minute that a 49ers player drilled the ball into the top of the goal from the twelve-yard line. The shot was out of the reach of San Francisco’s sophomore goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel, and it put the Dons in a 1-0 deficit that they would not come back from. Schiffel had not seen much action the entire game due to the strong midfield defense played by her teammates.
Only six total shots were attempted on goal by both teams throughout the entire match, with two of them being from San Francisco. In the last five matches, the Dons have scored two goals and have only won one game since their Sept. 8 win over Harvard.
USF, which now stands at 5-3- 2, will play its next game at Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1:00 p.m.
