PASADENA, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's soccer team scored four times and earned their second Cal Pac shutout this season with a 4-0 win over Providence Christian College Thursday afternoon.
The Bobcats (4-3-1, 2-1) latest win came while getting off a season-high 37 shots, 22 of them on goal.
Emily Burnett played a huge role in the victory as she scored the game-winning goal in the 18th minute and tabbed her first multi-goal game of the season with a score in the middle of the second half.
Burnett also outshot the entire Sea Beggar roster 6-5 and managed to put every shot on frame.
Jocelyne Garcia found the back of the net in the 22nd minute to put the Bobcats up 2-0. Garcia's third career-goal came off a set-piece seconds after checking into the match for the first time. Garcia is now tied with Burnett's three goals for the team lead.
Moriah Brown was credited with the assist, her first of the season and fourth of her career.
Just before the half, El Capitan High School product Isabella Spiva snuck one past the keeper for her first career goal. Spiva is one of five freshmen to score a goal this year. She also recorded a career-high four shots Thursday afternoon.
The Bobcats 3-0 lead at halftime marked the second time in the past five games where the Bobcats carried a lead of that size into the break.
Burnett's goal in the second half came off a corner kick. Burnett took the corner, a short lay-off to D Covarrubias. Burnett received the ball back after a few touches and then managed to get inside the box before rocketing a shot into the far corner of the net. Covarrubias earned the assist on the goal, as well as Burnett's first goal.
With her two-goal performance, Burnett moved into second on the program's all-time goals list with 24. Burnett is two points away from being second on the all-time points list.
Eight different Bobcats combined to pepper Providence Christian with 12 more shots before the final horn sounded. Joc. Garcia and Noodles Sidhu each had two shots on goal during the stretch.
17 Bobcats total got a shot off throughout the afternoon, including Kylee Silva who saw her first career action. Silva joined South Valley United teammates Kaylee Melendez and Ciera Santos on the field. The three freshmen got to play the final ten minutes together.
Other notables include five shots from Joc. Garcia, four on goal. Jenn Salinger added four shots, a touch above her season average that is currently good for fourth in the Cal Pac.
Defensively, Ally Lozano and Taylor Jackson split the 90 minutes between the posts to combine for the shutout. Lozano stopped a shot in the fourth and eighth minute, while Jackson denied a penalty kick from the Sea Beggars Ivy Vollaire to record her first career save.
Up next, the Bobcats travel to Lancaster, Calif., to take on the University of Antelope Valley Pioneers. First touch at the Lancaster National Soccer Center is scheduled for 11:00am.
