CHICO, Calif. - Returning from Colorado, the Wildcats were ecstatic to be under the lights at University Soccer Stadium in front of their home crowd. Their excitement was noticeable from the first whistle as the home side took up residence in front of the Central Washington goal—in the 31st minute, Jiana Martin finally struck the first goal for Chico, narrowly beating out the closing-in defenders to put it just over the head of the keeper.
There was no lack of opportunities for the home side to take the lead early into the match, but Central Washington's keeper was doing an outstanding job at forcing mistakes and pushing the danger aside.
Jiana Martin subbed in at the 31st-minute mark, immediately getting to work in Central Washington's box, scoring 30 seconds after stepping onto the pitch—Mikayla Robertson's solo run setting Martin up with a direct angle at the net.
The attention didn't leave Martin for long as she chased down a great leading pass from Robertson again in the final minutes of the half, composing herself and slipping a shot through the charging CWU keeper. A desperate attempt at a goal-line clearance from the visitors wasn't enough as the ball rolled over the goal line, notching Martin her second of the night and third this season.
The sophomore has scored three goals in her last three games, the first of her college career.
Emma Hofmann had her share of action, making six saves to keep her side ahead and the ball out of her net.
The energy shifted towards the visitors throughout the second half, but Chico State still found themselves in the corners, trying to service crosses in front of the net. The many lofted attempts finally paid off as the whistle blew for two Chico penalty kicks. The first was a sensational stop from the Central Washington's keeper, continuing to impress throughout the night, but the second didn't quite go the same way.
Natalie Mendoza stepped up to the spot in the 85th minute, converting from 12 yards out and giving them the decisive 3-0 victory.
Piper Matson ended Thursday night's match with six shots against CWU, half of those testing the keeper. Summar Baron tallied three shots herself, two of them forcing a save.
The Chico Wildcats will be back at home this Thursday to face off against Seattle Pacific; kickoff will be at 7 pm under the lights at University Stadium.
