TURLOCK, Calif. – Dominican women's soccer leaned on another strong defensive effort Sunday night, battling Stanislaus State to a 0-0 draw at Warrior Stadium.
The Penguins (3-1-1) were outshot 14-7, but limited many of the Warriors' looks to attempts from distance while
Michelle Salas Viniegra and
Rylee Buesing combined for the shutout. Salas Viniegra made eight saves in 86 minutes, 16 seconds, while Buesing came on for the final 3:44 and did not face a shot on goal as Dominican secured the road result.
Dominican nearly struck first on the opening shot of the match in the seventh minute. The ball fell to
Ysabella Belandres in the middle of the box, and she sent a dangerous attempt over the goalkeeper, but the shot clipped the top of the crossbar to keep the match scoreless. Stanislaus State answered with its best look less than seven minutes later as Mandy Thao took a shot from distance that forced Salas Viniegra into a diving save to her left. The Warriors continued to test Dominican from range throughout the opening half, but Salas Viniegra handled the shots that came her way and also helped cut out several promising buildups by getting to crosses before they could turn into cleaner chances.
The Penguins created another promising sequence in the 17th minute when
Janae Schwan sent a dangerous cross across the face of goal, but no one was able to get on the end of it. Dominican cycled the ball back out to
Brisa Navarrete near the top of the box, and Navarrete put her shot on frame before Zara Mujica secured it near the right post.
Stanislaus State earned a penalty kick early in the second half, but Salas Viniegra again came up with the answer, saving Aliah Avila's attempt in the 47th minute to keep the match scoreless. The Warriors finished with eight shots on goal, but Dominican's back line helped keep the majority of those looks from becoming clean scoring chances.
The second half produced few true chances for either side, with Dominican earning two corner kicks and Stanislaus State continuing to look for chances from distance. The match took a physical turn in the 87th minute when Olivia Maragos ran through Salas Viniegra as the Dominican goalkeeper went to cover a through ball in the box. Maragos was issued a yellow card on the play, and Salas Viniegra was forced from the match.
Buesing stepped in for the final minutes, but the Penguins' defense made sure she did not have much to do. Dominican had late attempt from
Carson Warfield in the final minute, but it sailed high and the Penguins secured the shutout and a point on the road.
Dominican will remain on the road Wednesday as it travels to Fresno Pacific for a 6 p.m. match at Ramirez Field.
