The San José State women’s soccer team’s hopes of snapping its three-game losing streak crumbled with a 2-1 loss to Colorado College on Thursday.
The Spartans (3-8-6, 1-5-3 MWC ) scored first and continued to play a physical match, but the Tigers (3-12-1, 3-6 MWC) didn’t let up, scoring two goals in the last 17 minutes of play.
Midfielder Sabrina Weinman scored a goal on a free kick in the 63rd minute to put the Spartans up 1-0 after a scoreless first half from both teams.
“I practice set pieces pretty much every day after practice,” Weinman said. “The ball was pretty much in the same spot that I practiced taking them, so when this opportunity came, I knew I had a clean shot.”
The goal was Weinman’s fourth of the season and 12th of her career.
Senior midfielder Cynthia Flores was the most aggressive offensively, leading the Spartans with five total shots, three of them on goal.
Tigers’ senior forward Shalom Prince scored a goal in the 73rd minute to tie the game at one a piece.
In the 84th minute, Prince scored her second goal of the match, giving Colorado College its third win of the season and snapping its three-game losing streak.
Spartan’s head coach Tina Estrada said her team is dealing with a lot of injuries this season, a possible contribution to the teams’ struggles against the Tigers.
“We had a ton of calls that we should have executed on it, and if you don’t put them away, you keep a team in the game,” Estrada said. “Unfortunately, we gave up two really bad goals there at the end.”
The Spartans were able to outshoot Colorado College 20-14 with a season-high 13 corner kicks.
“Once we went up 1-0 in the second half, I feel like we lost the form and focus of what we needed to do to secure the win,” Estrada said.
Junior midfielder Tiana Cello said it was super inspiring seeing Sabrina Weinman’s leadership.
“The best takeaway from tonight’s game is seeing the fight from our captains, Sabrina Weinman and Tatiana Cunningham,” Cello said. “Under the circumstances, the best part of tonight’s match was us fighting until the end.”
The Spartans would be eliminated from playoff contention with a 2-1 loss against Air Force on Sunday. Their last regular season game is scheduled for Thursday against Fresno State at Bulldog Soccer Stadium in Fresno.
