Fortune finally smiled on the Chico State women's soccer team Friday night as one of the unluckiest stretches of soccer in the program's history ended with a bit of good luck. Emily Shleppey's free kick from 50 yards, which possibly took a slight touch off a defender before bouncing once near the six-yard box line, bounded into the back of the net, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 overtime victory against first-place Cal State L.A..
After starting the season 4-0-1, the Wildcats had lost six straight. In many of those matches, they had the run of play, only to find themselves snake-bitten by unfortunate bounces and joy-stealing saves.
At first, Friday night's match took on a similar tone. After owning much of the possession against the California Collegiate Athletic Association's final unbeaten team (in
Emily Shleppey takes a free kick during Friday night's match. She had
the golden goal on a similar one from just inside of the midfield stripe.
conference play) and just missing on a pair of promising scoring chances, Chico State found itself trailing the Golden Eagles, who opened the scoring on their first shot of the match. Following a free kick, Zarette Munoz-Aguilar collected the ball 25 yards out in the middle of the pitch and played a pass wide to Marie-Lou Larose. She turned nicely to the inside, and with very little breathing room, hit a gorgeous ball from 20 yards that sailed into the far upper-V.
The Wildcats went to the half down 1-0 despite outshooting Cal State L.A. 11-2. Only the sterling play of Golden Eagles goalkeeper Adriana Maldanado kept them off the scoreboard. Maldanado made eight saves in the period, three coming on 1-v-1 chances, and finished with a mind-boggling 13.
But the Wildcats finally broke the seal in the 62
nd minute. Carlie Reader drew a corner kick with a nice turn at the edge of the box to set up the score. Korie Bozart's corner kick was a strike to the far post at the top of the six-yard box and Lindsey Dias did what she does best, leaping high above the defense to redirect it just inside the post. Her shot somehow snuck by a defender hugging the post and a diving Maldanado, whose slight touch on it may have actually redirected it through the legs of the defender and in.
The goal was Dias' third of the season and the 19
th of her career, moving her past Katherine Bagwell into sole possession of 10
th on the program's career scoring list. The assist was Bozart's second of the season.
Three times in the final 28 minutes it looked as if the Wildcats might take the lead. Reader's strike from in tight in the 65
th minute banged off of Maldanado's leg. Dias' header in the 86
th minute was saved off the line. And Pooja Patel's header trickled just wide of the far post in the waning seconds of the half.
Carlie Reader gets by her defender on the way to forcing the corner kick
that sat up the Wildcats' first goal.
Shleppey's shot – Chico State's first in the overtime period – may have been the least dangerous of the 22 they took Friday. But she earned it by drawing the foul, and the kick itself was in a dangerous spot.
Finally, fortune smiled on the Wildcats, and they erupted from the bench in a wild celebration – and perhaps an enormous feeling of relief.
The Wildcats, 5-6-1 overall and 1-6-0 in the CCAA, outshot Cal State L.A. 22-10 and enjoyed a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Cal State L.A., which entered the match on a six-match shutout streak, fell to 6-3-2 overall and 5-1-0 in the CCAA.
Chico State is back in action Sunday when it hosts Cal State Dominguez Hills. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
