(SAN DIEGO) After a scoreless opening half, PLNU Women's Soccer's offense erupted after the break to begin the team's PacWest title defense with a 3-1 home win over Fresno Pacific on Saturday afternoon.
"They were organized and made it difficult to score," Head Coach
Kristi Kiely said in praise of FPU. "We just said at halftime that it's going to take one special moment."
That moment was provided by
Alana Diaz, who scored a brace for the second-straight match, with her two second-half goals coming just six minutes apart.
"Our play was good but we knew we needed a special moment, and Alana provided that," Kiely said. "And then she provided it again."
In the 57th minute, Diaz received the ball outside the top of the box with her back to goal, before pirouetting in a full circle around a trio of Sunbird defenders to get the ball onto her right foot and find the back of the net.
Her second goal came from the left sideline, as her attempted left-footed cross looped over the goalkeeper into the opposite side netting.
"What's quite wonderful about Alana, to coach her and watch her play, is she does far more in the buildup," Kiely said. "It's wonderful that she's special on the ball and can score, but she puts in the work to be a part of everything else, whether it's defensive or part of the buildup.
"Complete players are hard to find and Alana certainly is that."
Point Loma then scored a deserved third goal in the 82nd minute, as San Francisco State transfer
Nicki Friedman tallied her first Sea Lion goal.
Jillian Tubbs won possession for her team on the left wing before pulling a ball back toward Friedman around the penalty spot. Friedman then shifted the ball onto her left foot and found the right side-netting.
"I'm so excited for Nicki," Kiely said. "For the work she's been putting in, to see a result in that way is fun and rewarding."
FPU added a late goal off a direct free kick, but the result was already in hand at that point, as PLNU opened up its PacWest title defense with a win.
"It was the change in tenacity in just wanting to win and wanting to score goals," Diaz said of what helped kickstart PLNU in the second half. "I know personally for me, the first goal is so important and sets the tone for the rest of the game.
"If you can get that, it puts you in a great spot. To be able to get the first and second goals, it gave us that extra push that we didn't have in the first half."
Next up for the three-time defending PacWest champion Point Loma (6-1-2 overall, 1-0 PacWest) is Holy Names in Oakland on Saturday.
"This win gives us confidence going into rest of conference play," Diaz said. "It's important to realize that we have a target on our back and we need to come out harder than any of our opponents."
