Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer had gone four games without scoring a goal headed into its Sunday afternoon matchup at Boston College. Just 24 seconds into the match, the Titans finally scored.
Unfortunately for them, they did so on the wrong net.
Ella Richards sent a shot flying toward the goal, which Fullerton goaltender Mia Ranson deflected. But the ball ricocheted off of the front of Jenae Perez and straight back toward Ranson and this time, into the back of the net.
“I thought we grinded today,” BC head coach Chris Watkins said. “It wasn’t a pretty game.”
The Eagles (7–1) rode the lead they were gifted all the way through, ultimately defeating the Titans (2–4) 1–0 to record their fourth shutout of the season.
“I think somehow we relaxed a bit,” Watkins said about his team’s performance after the early goal. “I actually thought that we settled down and weren’t as anxious to kind of go get a goal after that.”
Fullerton had a chance to tie things up with a penalty kick 32:50 into the match following a foul on Georgina Clarke. But Wiebke Willebrandt’s diving save—one of three—preserved the Eagles’ slim lead.
“It was just one of those second games of the weekend grind kind of days and we battled hard, and our goalkeeper came up big,” Watkins said. “Anytime you save a penalty kick, that’s really important.”
Despite Fullerton’s evident offensive struggles, its defensive effort was persistent and effective.
The Eagles got off 10 shots in the first half alone, six of which were on goal. But none quite hit their target as Ranson and her defense stayed strong, tallying five saves in the first 45 minutes.
A bright spot in BC’s somewhat quiet offense was Sydney Segalla, who consistently outsprinted her defenders, receiving long passes upfield and applying pressure to Fullerton’s defense.
“She’s a special talent for sure,” Watkins said. “We’ve got to play her right.”
Segalla’s work was nearly rewarded in the 22nd minute when she received a pass on the right side and fired a short shot, but the attempt was quickly blocked to keep it a one-goal game.
“I was a little disappointed in how efficient we were in the offensive half today,” Watkins said.
The Titans blocked eight of the Eagles’ shots, demonstrating the defensive aggressiveness that kept the Eagles off the scoreboard for 89 minutes.
The Eagles were not without their own defensive moments. Grace Courter and Georgina Clarke combined for a key defensive stop in the Eagles’ defensive zone with about five minutes left in the first half, using their quickness to stop Fullerton from getting a good look at a goal.
A leaping save across the goal in the 83rd minute from Willebrandt cemented the Eagles’ win, improving their record to 7–1 ahead of their first ACC matchup on Thursday versus Notre Dame.
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