COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of California, Merced women's soccer team shutout Midland University and Trinidad Quiroz scored in the 76th minute for the program's first ever NAIA National Championship Opening Round win, 1-0, on Thursday afternoon in the Columbia-CMU bracket. The match marked the Bobcats first national tournament game in program history.
The Bobcats (16-2) now advance to the second round and will face fourth-ranked and host Central Methodist University on Saturday. The Bobcats victory also extended their winning streak to a program-record eight games.
Quiroz scored from ten yards out near post, burying her shot over the goalkeeper for her 23rd goal of the campaign and her eleventh game-winning goal. Following a stoppage of the clock due to an injury, Yesenia Tijerina restarted the action and sent a long ball into the Bobcats attacking third. Alondra Higareda played it to Quiroz left side, who then dribbled up the field five yards and made a move around a defender before firing.
Quiroz, who is ranked fifth in the NAIA with her 23 goals, recorded ten shots on the day and put seven of them on frame. The San Jose, Calif., nearly scored before the first half buzzer but it was saved by Midland's diving keeper and then an Elisa Garcia shot on the rebound was deflected and resulted in a corner kick as time expired.
Early in the second half, Quiroz headed a Jennavieve Ordonez corner off the post and then a Rocha header on the follow attempt was punched over the crossbar. Rocha's header attempt on the ensuing corner kick was just high.
UC Merced outshot Midland 22-9 overall and won the corner kick battle 8-2. Head coach Roman DuChateau's team dominated possession in the second half, getting off 15 shots compared to just two for Midland. Yareli Hernandez and Katy Flores took three shots each for the Bobcats.
Jadyn Gong made five saves for the Bobcats in her 90 minutes between the posts to earn her Cal Pac record-breaking 12th shutout of the season. She made a diving save in the 42nd minute which ultimately helped preserve the shutout. She also caught a line drive in the first half from a shot taken just inside the 18-yard box.
Gong's 12 shutouts break the conference's previous single-season record set by Embry-Riddle's Caitlyn Aaron in 2017.
Saturday's NAIA National Championship Second Round match is scheduled for 1:00pm PST against fourth-seed Central Methodist at Battle Creek High School in Columbia, Mo.
