LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Women's soccer shocked freshly minted No. 24 Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday evening with a 51st-minute opener from
Hailey Garvin, but couldn't quite claim the upset when a 77th-minute CSULA equalizer locked both teams into a 1-1 draw at full time in University Stadium.
The first-ever tie in the series matchup puts Vanguard at 1-4-1 on the season, while the Golden Eagles remain unbeaten with a 3-0-2 record.
CSULA led with an 18-6 shot advantage, as well as a season-best 11 on goal. VU, however, never offered the Golden Eagles anything too clear-cut, a recipe that helped
Grayton Normand nail a career-best 10 saves. The Golden Eagles did make use of a 10-3 corner kick advantage, with their most single-game corner kicks in nearly three years proving key down the stretch.
What Happened? The Golden Eagles put out five shots in the first 20 minutes, but none bothered Normand until the 21
st minute, when a well-timed through ball gave Briana Chagolla a decent angle from the left side of the box, with a shot that was held from Normand.
The 8-3 CSULA first-half shot tally continued to balloon, but their next two efforts came from outside the box and landed far away from the VU net. The Lions had their first and only real look on goal approaching the half-hour mark as a decent spell of possession moved the ball to
Jennifer Alvarez on the right wing.
Alvarez was greeted by a Golden Eagle defender, but pushed the ball to the byline to slice a near post cross low across the turf. The ball found
Kate Burns, who held her run and opened up her body to attack the ball with the left boot. The point-blank save for CSULA's Kendyl Sumlin was followed by another short-range stop as Garvin tried to poke in the second attempt but couldn't put a bulge in the Golden Eagle net.
CSULA had two of the last three shots over the concluding 15 minutes of the period; they connected on a header off a corner kick in the last 17 seconds, which misfired harmlessly into the hands of Normand.
The Golden Eagles maintained their control of possession in the second half, but they quickly lost control of the scoreline after just five minutes played.
VU started an initial attack toward
Kyra Binstock in the box but saw the effort badgered away by the CSULA defense. It was
Naia Kaulukukui who helped recycle play to the other side of the pitch for Garvin to eventually receive. The senior started with the ball near half-field, carried past two Golden Eagles and, left unchecked, bombed a 30-yard effort just under the Golden Eagle crossbar to burn past the hand of Sumlin and give VU the 1-0 lead.
The goal was Garvin's first of the season and fifth of her career.
It was game on after the opener, with the match opening up as CSULA hunted for the equalizer. The hosts still found themselves without a clear chances to snag the go-ahead goal, but their shot from distance in the 68
th nearly offered them the moment of magic they were hoping for, with a similar Garvin-esque effort from CSULA's Bailey Martinez outside the box beating Normand but slapping against the crossbar.
The way back for CSULA was corner kicks. They stacked an 8-0 lead in them in the half, the entire slate coming post VU's goal. Wave after wave of quality service in the box finally bested VU in the 77
th minute when a corner kick poked away by Normand fell to Martinez at the back post. This time Martinez made no mistake, with a composed control and finish into the side netting.
The Blue and Gold found two opportunities in the last 10 minutes to pull out the winner. They operated on the counter attack on both occasions, with Garvin nearly connecting with Binstock and
Abby Trujillo piecing the final shot of the match for a one-all draw in LA.
What's Next? Vanguard host Fresno Pacific for its final nonconference match on Tuesday, September 15 at 1 pm.
