(SAN DIEGO) No. 18 PLNU Women's Soccer scored an early goal in each half but No. 24 Cal State LA battled back to earn a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon in the Sea Lions' season opener.
"We had higher hopes and expectations for this match," Head Coach
Kristi Kiely said. "I do think two goals should be enough to come out with three points and not one, so we're disappointed there.
"We know we need to sharpen some things up. You look at the shot difference and the amount of time you have the ball. For all those things I think you should come away with three points."
Point Loma couldn't have asked for a much better start to the game, scoring a goal before even recording a shot, as
Alyssa Ketcham's dangerous cross was inadvertently redirected into the net by a Golden Eagles player just eight minutes into the match.
PLNU maintained its lead until CSULA drew a foul in the box and buried the subsequent spot kick in the 33rd minute to tie the game going into halftime.
The Sea Lions started brightly in the second half and were rewarded with
Nikki Ross' first Point Loma goal in the 52nd minute of her Point Loma debut.
Jillian Tubbs beat her defender on the right flank and pulled a ball back to the center of the box for
Bethany Arabe, whose initial shot was blocked but only as far as Ross.
The University of New Mexico transfer then thumped in the rebound from close range to restore the Sea Lions' advantage.
PLNU held its second lead of the game until the 65th minute when the visitors equalized once more with a long-range free kick that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and just across the goal line.
Point Loma pushed for a winner and had a few good looks at goal, outshooting Cal State LA 9-4 in the second half, but were forced to settle for a season-opening draw.
"I thought they did a really good job making a change in the second half to get LA on their back foot," Kiely said of her team's improved display in the second half. "We want to start the game that way, which we did in getting the goal, but in terms of our ability to create more quality chances it took us a half to get to that."
Kiely highlighted the play of her back line, specifically outside back
Olivia Shaw.
"There's a lot of pressure on our backs on both sides of the ball, when we have it and when we don't," Kiely said. "I thought they relieved their own pressure by some of the decisions they were making and the pace at which they played. I think that helped a ton."
PLNU (0-0-1 overall) next hosts Cal Poly Pomona (1-0-1) on Thursday at 1 p.m. The Sea Lions defeated the Broncos 1-0 in Pomona last season.
"We need to be able to put 90 minutes together," Kiely said. "I know in game one the expectation isn't always there to do that but we have high expectations here. We are going to keep those standards and expectations high and we're going to be disappointed when we don't meet them. That's where we're at today.
"A couple opportunities and we don't get the points that we want."
