Susanna Garcia scored for the third straight match to start the season and true freshman goalkeeper Emma Hofmann ingratiated herself to the home fans with a skilled and strong University Soccer Stadium debut, but the Chico State women's soccer team could not hold off a hard-charging Seattle Pacific side in a 2-1 loss Saturday night.
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Seattle Pacific (1-0-0) ranked second in the nation in goals per match during an unbeaten 2020 and returning all 11 starters from that team scored twice in the final 27 minutes in its come-from-behind win. But the young Wildcats (2-1-0), featuring five freshmen in the starting XI, gave the Falcons all they could handle.
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Hofmann set the tone with two nice early saves and then Garcia staked them to a 1-0 advantage with her third goal of the campaign. Camille Lidster outmuscled an opponent for a 50-50 ball near midfield and then held her off long enough to poke a pass forward to freshman Natalie Mendoza. Her head up on a drive toward the top of the box, Mendoza spotted Garcia charging hard from the left wing and angled a perfect pass to her. Garcia one-timed it from eight yards out and it was by the keeper and into the top shelf before she could react.
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Hofmann made another strong save early in the second half, and again came up big with a one-handed deflection on a point-blank look in the 64
th minute, but SPU's Chloe Gellhaus was in the right place at the right time to put the rebound into the back of the net to equalize.
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The match winner came in the 85
th minute. Following a corner kick, a long scrum ensued in the 18-yard box. The Wildcats were unable to clear it and eventually a deflection fell to Sophia Chilczuk and she hammered it home from close range.
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Lidster led the Wildcats with four shots and Mendoza took three. Hofmann finished with five saves.
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The Wildcats will be back home to face Holy Names Monday at 1 p.m.
Photo by Dominic Curcuro.
Photo by Dominic Curcuro
