California Baptist University
Point Loma
GOLDEN BOOT
10/10/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- What has already been a career year for Lindsey Merrett got much better Wednesday.
Merrett, who had just six career goals in two previous seasons, scored what may be the biggest goal of the California Baptist season when she scored the game's only goal, a golden one no less, with 1:07 left to lift the Lancers to a 1-0 double-overtime win at the NAIA's No. 6-ranked Point Loma Nazarene.
The junior's tenth goal of the season lifts the Lancers to 9-3 overall, 4-1 (12 points) GSAC.
Meanwhile, the Sea Lions fall to 8-3-1, 2-2-1 (7 points) with their second straight loss to an unranked team.
Not only is it the Lancers' second win over a Top 15 team in the past five games, but it also comes on the road at a very difficult place to play against a team that was ranked No. 4 before the new rankings were released earlier in the day. It also keeps the Lancers in third place in the GSAC halfway through their conference slate and just three points behind co-leaders Concordia and Azusa Pacific.
“To the girls' credit, they just kept battling and chipping away at it,” said first-year head coach Kristen St. Clair. “This is a tough place to play. We struggled to possess the ball, but at the end of the day, we got the result we had hoped for.”
With what would have been a somewhat pleasing tie looming just 67 seconds away, the Lancers won the ball in transition and took advantage. The ball was played long down the right sideline where Arianna Triasi ran onto it. After beating her defender, Triassi crossed it into the box. Lizzy Bendrick redirected it to a wide-open Merrett, who was crashing the box from the left side and easily tucked away the winner.
“That was the best sequence of the entire game for us, and it couldn't have come at a better time,” said St. Clair.
The Sea Lions actually out-shot the Lancers, 19-13, including a 12-6 advantage after the first half but could only muster four shots on goal. CBU keeper Emily Evanson was there to save each of those.
“Our backline (Brittany Shea, Jennelle Jennings, Jenna Oltmanns and Kyrie Nicassio) played very well, and Emily made some big saves in the second half,” said St. Clair. “This is a great benchmark for our program, but by no means are these girls done. We have little time to regroup for Fresno Pacific on Saturday.”
The Lancers host the Sunbirds (6-2-3, 1-1-3) Saturday at 3 p.m.
