Chico State women's soccer coach Kim Sutton wasn't sure how Saturday night's season-opening match at Azusa Pacific would go. She did that her team would play hard. They proved her right, and they proved that they have the ability to play some really good soccer in a 1-0 win at the Cougar Soccer Complex.
 
Mackenzie Gill created a turnover and crossed to Susanna Garcia for the lone goal of the match in the ninth minute, and then the Wildcats held off Azusa Pacific, enjoying a trio of saves from true freshman goalkeeper Emma Hofmann.
 
Every practice this team has showed up and they go at it and they go after it. It's super fun. So, I knew they were going to play hard today," Sutton said.
 
Chico State's women's soccer team was taking the pitch for a match for the first time since November 9, 2019. Azusa Pacific (1-1-0) was coming off a 4-0 victory against San Francisco State and exhibition victory against Cal State Bakersfield. Though the Wildcats were somewhat rusty, as to be expected, the settled in after scoring that early goal.
 
Gill picked off a pass on the edge of the 18-yard box as the Cougars attempted to play the ball out of the back. She quickly crossed to Garcia, who hammered it into the top shelf from the mouth of the goal. They teamed up on the goal, but were not the only key contributors Saturday. In fact, 19 different Wildcats played.
 
Sutton reserved her highest praise for center backs Klayre Barres and Nicole Fairbanks. That pair, along with fellow starting defenders Jordan Doukakis and Kylie Martinez and reserve defender Megan Looney (who provided each of those two with breathers while making a strong impression in her collegiate debut), provided the last line of defense before Hofmann.
 
But on the rare occasion the true freshman keeper was needed, she rose to the occasion. Her most impressive of three saves came during the closing seconds of the opening stanza when she snuffed out a 1-v-1.
 
Garcia's goal was the ninth of the junior's career, and the sixth match winner. Gill, playing in the first match of her sophomore season, has registered a trio of assists in a Chico State uniform.
 
The Wildcats will remain in Southern California until Monday when they face Biola (2-0-0) at 11 a.m. at Al Barbour Field in La Mirada. They'll open their home campaign Saturday, September 11, at 7 p.m. against Seattle Pacific and return to University Soccer Stadium the following Monday for a 1 p.m. matchup with Holy Names.