The Chico State women's soccer team dominated possession for much of the first 20 minutes of the match and produced a number of dangerous scoring opportunities. One Stanislaus State counter attack took all of that momentum away, however, in the Wildcats' 2-0 loss in Turlock Friday night.
The loss dropped Chico State to 6-7-1 overall and 2-7-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Stanislaus State improved to 9-5-0 and 3-5-0.
Lindsey Dias' volley off a free kick was saved just over five minutes into the match. That was one of many early services for the Wildcats' offense. Courtney Sharrah took a nice crack from just inside the box that was saved with a dive in the 36
th minute. Pooja Patel ripped a shot just wide in the 53
rd minute. Korie Bozart's free kick was saved in the 55
th minute.
The chances were there for Chico State. The Wildcats just couldn't cash in.
In the 25
th minute the Warriors did.
The Chico State defense permitted Stanislaus State's Mikayla Clifford to take a throw from the goalkeeper and dribble well beyond the midfield stripe with little resistance. That allowed her to scan the field, and on the opposite side, she saw just one defender and a lot of room for teammate Kirsten Coleman to run. Bozart attempted to cut the pass off, but it took a funny hop and got beyond her. Coleman took three touches and headed directly for the goal before hitting a blast inside the near post for her sixth goal of the season.
They made it 2-0 in the 57
th minute on Rayan Plancarte's gorgeous strike from 25 yards. The ball curled just inside the post after skipping low on the wet turf just past Wildcats keeper Caitlyn Duval.
Chico State is back in action Sunday. The Wildcats will travel to face Cal State Monterey Bay for an 11:30 a.m. match that will be the final road test of the season for Chico State.
The Wildcats will return home to wrap up the regular season against Sonoma State Friday and Humboldt State Sunday. The team's five seniors – Amanda Simonich, Shelby Lanksbury, Katie Brown, Emily Shleppey, and Dias – will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday's match.
