Toreros defeat Saint Mary’s

USD women’s soccer defeats the Saint Mary’s Gaels 5-0 to remain unbeaten at home

Chris Spiering / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

It took a collective effort from the Toreros to get the job done as they defeated the Saint Mary’s College Gaels 5-0 last Wednesday to remain unbeaten at home. The hot corner was sizzling for USD as they scored a massive four goals off of corner kicks. 

The Toreros hadn’t played a home game in over a month, and  the home atmosphere surely helped the Toreros shine.

“It’s great to have the fans’ support,” redshirt-senior goalie Amber Michel said. “How strong we came out with everyone, it was awesome.”  

The first 20 minutes were quiet as both teams were aggressively trying to take control of possession. In the 20th minute, it seemed as if USD had scored a goal, but the referee waved it off as it didn’t cross the goal line completely. The Toreros had put seven goals through the net, but two were taken off in the first half. 

The scoring onslaught started with a corner kick in the 22nd minute. Sophomore defender Michaela Foster placed a perfect kick right to the Gael goalie that she couldn’t handle, and it fell right into the back of the net for a goal, making the score 1-0. That score was her second goal of the season.

“My mindset is definitely to score,” Foster said. “If not, I want to put it on one of my teammates so they can tip it in and make it as easy as possible for them.” 

There wasn’t much offense for Saint Mary’s in the first half. In the 26th minute, the Gaels had an opportunity for a goal with a free kick. The shot by Venessa Gaitan deflected off a Torero defender and was cleared out. 

In the 34th minute, the Toreros were set up for another corner kick. Foster lined up and kicked a perfect ball right to senior defender Kelley Carusa for the goal, her first of the season to make the score 2-0.

It was a bit of a slow half for Michel. Just before the 40th minute, she recorded two saves while having to jump and deflect a ball over the crossbar for one of the saves. She finished with three saves altogether in the first half.  

In the 40th minute, the Toreros were lined up for another corner kick. This time it was first-year midfielder Eden Quiroz, who placed a perfect kick to sophomore forward Madison Louderback, where she tipped it in for her first goal of the season to make the score 3-0 just before the half. 

USD seemed to have controlled the ball for a majority of the first half. The Toreros had eight corner kick attempts to the Gaels’ two in the first half. The score could have easily been 5-0, if the referee didn’t wave off what had looked like two goals by the Toreros. 

The second half started slow for the first 10 minutes as the Gaels were looking to get something going for their team. But they just couldn’t get in a rhythm. 

The 56th minute came around and the Toreros were lined up once again for another corner kick. It was the first collegiate goal for the first year Quiroz as she deflected the ball past the Gael goalie to make the score 4-0, Toreros. 

USD was on fire from the hot corner all night long and the scoring didn’t stop. Less than five minutes later, in the 61st minute, redshirt-junior midfielder/defender Emma Barrow scored a goal from the right side from an assist by Carusa. The score was 5-0, which marked a season-high for the Toreros. 

USD finished with 11 corner kicks on the night. 

“We practice them a lot in training,” Foster said. “We always go over what we want from the corner and make the defensive team think about it.” 

Five different Toreros tallied a goal as they shared the ball and gave each other good chances to score all night long.

“We were really good with the ball,” Foster said. “I think we looked like the better team and we were passing well and our attackers came out today and showed what they can do.” 

A substitution by USD in the 79th minute replaced Michel with first year goalie Ellyn Casto, ending Michel’s night. She finished with her second shutout of the season.  

The Torero defense never let the Gaels get close to scoring. 

“I think everyone was tuned in to get the shutout today,” Michel said. “It’s definitely a team effort from the forwards all the way back to the defense, everyone came out wanting to win this game today and I think that is how we got the shutout.” 

San Diego improved to 4-0 at home (5-6-1 overall) this season, with their only losses coming on the road. 

“I think being at home gives us that extra energy,” Michel said. “But at the same time, we have to bring it here and we have to bring it on the away games, so bringing it to Santa Clara will be important.” 

Like Michel said, USD will go on the road on Saturday, Oct. 12 to face West Coast Conference (WCC) opponent Santa Clara University. Their next home game is Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. against Loyola Marymount University at Torero Stadium.