SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's soccer answered a pair of Vanguard goals with sustained second-half pressure and a
Guilianna McCarty penalty kick, but the Lions held on for a 2-1 PacWest victory Friday morning at Kennelly Field.
The Penguins (6-7-1, 1-4 PacWest) generated nine of its 11 shots after the half, while the Lions (7-6-1, 5-2 PacWest) finished with a 16-11 advantage in shots and a 9-6 edge in shots on goal.
Rylee Buesing made seven saves for the Penguins.
Dominican nearly struck in the opening moments. Just over a minute into the match, quick ball movement freed
Janae Schwan on the right corner of the penalty area and she put an attempt on frame that forced Grayton Normand into a diving save. The ball spilled a short distance away from the Vanguard goalkeeper with
Lyric Gomez-Muniz sprinting towards the ball but she could not beat the recovering defender and the Lions cleared the danger. Vanguard generated the greater volume through the remainder of the opening half, but Buesing kept the match scoreless with five saves. She turned away Aneala Sibayan in the 19th minute, Abby Trujillo twice during a four-minute stretch and Jennifer Alvarez in the 26th before adding another stop on Alvarez shortly before halftime. Dominican's other shot on goal came from
Alondra Toriche in the 43rd minute.
The match remained level until Vanguard struck twice in a span of 27 seconds in the 62nd minute. Kaylee Cuttress first slipped a backheel to Naia Kaulukukui near the top of the box, and Kaulukukui finished into the lower-left corner for a 1-0 lead at 61:03. Moments later, Cuttress did the same thing at the other corner of the penalty area with Hailey Garvin on the receiving end as she drove her shot across goal to the back post to double the advantage.
Dominican nearly pulled one back three minutes later. Schwan stepped over a free kick near the top of the box and bent her attempt around the wall, but the shot clipped the left post and stayed out. The Penguins continued to press and earned their breakthrough in the 68th minute.
Kiana Ayllon attacked the Vanguard defense before a foul in the penalty area gave Dominican a chance from the spot. McCarty converted the penalty kick at 67:27, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and giving the Penguins their first converted penalty of the season.
Dominican kept the pressure on after the goal.
Tahlia Smith forced Normand into a save in the 70th minute, while Schwan returned to the field and produced two more attempts in the final 12 minutes, including a shot on goal that Normand stopped in the 80th.
Riley Gergurich added another late look, but the Penguins could not find the equalizer.
Dominican now heads to Hawai'i for a three-match PacWest road trip beginning Wednesday at Chaminade with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. Hawaiian Time.
