The University of California, Merced women's soccer team dominated possession for 90 straight minutes Thursday afternoon, and the result was a comfortable 3-0 victory over visiting University of Antelope Valley.
Veronica Villacorta led the way for UC Merced, bagging a pair of goals in the victory.
Villacorta got the scoring started for UC Merced just over 20 minutes into the game when she took a feed from Daisy Bonilla in the box and buried it into the back of the net. It wouldn't be the only time those two paired up to put UC Merced on the board.
Just seven minutes later, the scorching hot Elizabeth Cruz, who's scored in four of her last five games, took a through-ball from Bridget Villanueva and found herself one-on-one with the keeper. The skilled forward put the ball away comfortably to double UC Merced's lead before the halftime break.
Head coach Megan Atoigue was sure to keep the team fired up in her halftime speech, making sure the team knew that a 2-0 score line was infamously the most dangerous score line in soccer.
The Bobcats responded in the second half, once again holding UAV to what felt like just seconds of possession before the Villacorta/Bonilla twosome struck again.
This time though, it wasn't just those two, as Cruz factored into the goal as well. In the end though, it was Villacorta lofting one into the top left side of the net to give UC Merced their final 3-0 score.
The final score line was nearly altered with under a minute though. Off a pretty cross from UAV, a forward had a point blank header, seemingly setting the Pioneers up for a consolation goal. In an instant, keeper Gabby Vinco who was leaning to her left, flashed a big hand up to the right to no only keep the ball out of the back of the net, but also land it right in front of herself to prevent any rebound. It was arguably the save of the season for UC Merced.
Maggie Morales started in net and ended up bringing home the victory in the box score.
UC Merced, along with their dominance in possession, absolutely crushed UAV in the box score as well, leading 32-4 in shots, 14-2 in shots on goal, and winning the corner kick battle 9-0.
The Bobcats will get Friday off before taking the field at home again on Saturday. The team will welcome Providence Christian College to the Lake Field, with kickoff scheduled for 12:30. That game will kick off UC Merced's annual Kids Day festivities.
