Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics.
The San Jose State women’s soccer team nailed an Easter Sunday 1-0 victory against the University of Nevada, Reno in its final home match of the season.
The triumphant event was also a celebration of two senior players’ final home game, Lauola Amanoni and Bella Bowers.
Bowers said stakes were high because Sunday games are always physically difficult, but going into this game was especially emotional because it was her senior day.
“Not every girl has been with me this whole journey, but still being able to feel that love and appreciation before the game was my motivation,” Bowers said.
Sunday’s win was part of a two-game weekend for the team that continued its victorious streak after winning the previous match against Boise State 1-0 on Friday.
The match was an excellent representation of the Spartans’ commendable defense, blocking all 6 of the Wolf Pack’s attempted shots.
Junior goalie Zoe Aguirre was at ease for a considerable portion of the game because of the success defensive players had in blocking Reno’s attacks.
A large portion of the first half consisted of a back-and-forth period of fouls, with 6 against the Wolf Pack and 9 against the Spartans before the first point of the match.
Numerous shots were attempted by both teams before the first goal was secured by the Spartans 37 minutes into the match.
Both Reno and SJSU played competitively before the goal was scored, with 3 shots on goal attempted on both sides.
The winning goal was dynamically assisted by freshman Evan House and senior
Bella Bowers, which was then completed by midfielder freshman Cynthia Flores in a graceful attack.
It was Flores’ first goal in her collegiate career.
In a post-game interview posted on the Twitter account for SJSU women’s soccer, head coach Lauren Hanson said Flores’ goal was a reflection of the success the team has
been building.
“That is just a preview of what we can do in the attack,” Hanson said in the interview. “It’s part of developing a rhythm and it’s been a process of trying to develop that. You’ve seen it in spurts, but it’s starting to come together even more so throughout the season.”
Although the match’s second period didn’t consist of any scores, both teams continued to play conscientiously.
Aguirre notably blocked an attempted shot by Reno’s Luz Arreaga in minute 74, saving SJSU from a tied game.
Freshmen players House and Flores were standout athletes in Sunday’s game, leading several shots and demonstrating extreme potential for the young team’s future.
Throughout the game, numerous substitutions from the bench were also key components to the team’s victory.
Bowers said the team has consistently had a deep bench throughout the season, which has made a huge impact on SJSU’s performance as a collective.
She added that the team had at least seven people come off the bench at one time.
When referring to the substituted players Bowers said, “the level of playing never went down, if anything it went up.”
The game ended with the Spartans at an advantage with 10 shot attempts, compared to the Wolf Pack’s 6 attempts.
SJSU is scheduled to play its last game of the season on Saturday at Fresno State with kick off at 11 a.m.
Although the Spartans celebrated an outstanding weekend of victories, Bowers explained the team’s motto for the last game is “don’t be complicit” because there is always room
for improvement.