ROCKLIN, Calif. – A season-high four goals steered women's soccer to a 4-0 victory against Jessup, Wednesday afternoon at Warrior Field. The Blue and Gold were never troubled defensively, outshooting Jessup 21-3 and holding the Warriors to 0 shots on goal.
Kate Burns connected for the opener, striking from distance to put VU on the board. The Lions would score twice more in the first half, as
Kaylee Cuttress netted her first career goal and
Vanessa Pastrana produced her third career tally. Defender
Audrey Swanis also had her first career goal from a corner kick to close out the road result.
"Our goal was to be more clinical in the final third," shared Head Coach
Emily Reynolds. "We walked out with four goals from four different goal scorers. We're very proud of the effort the team displayed today."
Midweek Pacific West Conference action leaves Vanguard at 6-6-1 and 4-2 in the league. Jessup drops to 1-8-2 and 1-3 in the conference.
What Happened? The Lions controlled the early tempo and churned out three of their eventual six corner kicks, a trend that provided a much greater goalscoring threat later in the match.
VU hit the back of the net on just their second shot of the afternoon. The play started with
Naia Kaulukukui, who was dispossessed in VU's buildup from a goal kick. The freshman didn't take long to recover, however, making a swift tackle to win back the ball and launch the Lion attack. She dribbled through midfield and fed
Aneala Sibayan, who slipped a ball down the left side for an onrushing Burns.
Burns breezed past three Warriors before approaching the top of the box. The JU backline stayed deep and were punished for their passivity, as Burns bent the ball to the top right corner to open the scoring. It was the seventh career goal for Burns, and the first time she's scored outside of Costa Mesa. The sophomore now sits on 10 points for the season.
The shots continued coming from Vanguard, as they registered five before earning their second goal. Most of the strikes came from
Kalena Yamashita and
Jennifer Alvarez, as each coined two tries from distance during a 10-minute span.
Cuttress came on in the 25
th minute and scored her first career goal 10 minutes later. It was an ultimate team goal as the Lions linked together seven passes to set up the Cuttress strike. They started with the ball on the left wing and connected between both center-backs before
Emily Wagner bumped the ball into midfield. Pastrana combined with
Hailey Garvin on the half turn, and the senior speared through midfield off the dribble before sending in Cuttress on the left wing. The GNAC transfer in Cuttress still had a lot to do, but bought the space to shoot after speeding past two Warrior defenders from the outside. Her goal came from a narrow angle at the near post, with the placement just sharp enough to squeeze under the goalkeeper and into the net.
The Vanguard pressure kept pouring on after doubling the advantage. VU gained both yardage and set pieces thanks to
Lily Fama, who helped maintain pressure from right back with both throw-ins and the ball at her feet.
VU's second goal in seven minutes came from their fifth and final corner kick of the half.
Kyra Binstock stood over the corner kick from the right side. The cross glanced off a Garvin head before JU bundled another header to push the ball away from the six-yard box.
Hannah Caira helped hoist it back into play with an interception, keeping the loose ball from being cleared. It was Pastrana who finally locked onto the bouncing ball, striking with her left boot on a half-spin at the edge of the 18, to kiss a polished finish past the far post.
VU could not replicate their three-goal haul for the final 45 minutes but upped the shot tally to a 12-2 lead over JU, forcing nine saves from the hosts in the period. Swanis stabbed in the last goal of the day in the 65
th minute, from VU's only corner kick of the second half. The cross was initially cleared by JU, but
Lindsey Hiraki lurked at the edge of the box to fire in a well-driven shot back into the area. Swanis swarmed in on the roaming ball at the near post and fleshed out a finish to the bottom left corner to cap off the 4-0 road win.
What's Next? VU will travel to San Rafael to play Dominican on October 16 at 11am.
