TURLOCK, Calif. – Dominican women's soccer fell 3-1 Sunday evening to Stanislaus State at Warrior Stadium.
The Penguins (1-3-0) faced heavy offensive pressure from the Warriors (2-1-1) throughout the contest as
Natalie Haro had seven saves for Dominican.
Alejandra Melendez scored her first goal of the season and the fifth of her career for the Penguins.
The opening minutes were largely a battle in the midfield between the two teams as the teams looked for an opening. Dominican was the first to take advantage as a bouncing ball in its attacking third found the feet of
Tanya Bills who quickly sent a through ball between a pair of Stanislaus State defenders to
Alejandra Melendez who took a first-touch shot towards the far post to beat the keeper for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
The Penguins made life difficult on the Warriors attack over the next 17 minutes as they were unable to generate a quality opportunity. Haylee Heffner sent a looping cross from the right flank and found the head of Alexis Brewah who got just enough on it to pop it over Haro and into the netting to tie the game 1-1 in the 25th minute.
The Warriors continued to press for a goal over the next 20 minutes but Dominican did not concede another good opportunity for the remainder of the half and half ended in a tie.
Stanislaus State found the go-ahead goal in the 50th minute as Makeila Yancey sent in a cross from the top right of the box and found the head of Amber Pon who flicked it towards the far post for the 2-1 lead. Melendez looked to tie the game on a free kick from the top of the box in the 56th minute but the shot was inches above the cross bar.
Camille Aquino looked to have another chance for Dominican in the 64th minute as she collected a poor clearance by the Warrior keeper and maneuvered past a pair of defenders to the center of the box, but a tackle cut off her shot attempt. Stanislaus state was able to add to its lead in the 67th minute as Sabrina Cabrera weaved her way around the box and then passed to Heffner for a shot for the 3-1 lead.
Dominican will return home to host Sonoma State Wednesday at 4 p.m. PDT at Kennelly Field.
