IRVINE, Calif. – Trinidad Quiroz scored four goals to power the University of California, Merced women's soccer team to a 4-2 win over Hope International University in the season opener at OC Great Park on Thursday night.
The Bobcats (1-0) have now won four straight season openers with two of the four wins coming on the road.
Quiroz, a 2022 NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, netted two goals in each half. She scored an equalizer for the Bobcats in the 36th minute while scoring the eventual game-winning goal in the 68th minute.
Quiroz's four goals ties the Bobcats season-opening record. Overall, it is Quiroz's second 4+ goal game and she becomes just the second player in program history to accomplish that feat, joining Claudia Diaz (2012-15).
Isabella Spiva, Stephanie Medina, and Makena Jensen earned an assist in the win.
UC Merced outshot HIU 18-8 in the win, putting seven of the shots on target. Quiroz recorded 12 total shots, while Isabella Spiva got off two shots and four other Bobcats notched one.
Head coach Roman DuChateau's team wasted no time on the attack and Quiroz opened up the scoring in the fifth minute. Fifth-year senior I. Spiva was key in getting the ball down the field and would end up playing the ball to Medina towards the center of the Bobcats attacking third. Medina set up Quiroz from 25 yards out and Quiroz buried her shot towards the right post.
With Spiva's assist, the Merced, Calif., native moved out of a three-way tie for sole possession of ninth place on the program's all-time assists list. Spiva's assist was the 12th of her career.
HIU scored their first goal in the 16th minute before finding the back of the net again in the 25th minute to briefly take the lead. Both of their goals came on their first two shots of the night.
The Bobcats responded well to their first deficit of the season. In the 36th minute, Quiroz received the ball down the left sideline and took her defender one-on-one all the way into the center of the 18-yard box and lasered a shot off the crossbar and into net for a highlight-reel goal.
Quiroz struck again just over 20 minutes into the second half. Taking a long throw in from Makena Jensen, Quiroz controlled possession and powered a left-footed shot into the goal for the game-winning goal.
The San Jose, Calif., natives fourth goal of the night came following a corner kick. While HIU took a variety of touches in order to clear it out of the Bobcats attacking third, they struggled to do so and Quiroz made the Royals pay. She tracked down possession near the touchline, split a pair of defenders, was able to get around a third one, and then beat the diving keeper near post from about 20 yards out.
Her four goals brings her UC Merced career total to 22, which puts her in a tie with Veronica Villacorta (2013-17) for seventh in program history.
Jadyn Gong played all 90 minutes in goal for the Bobcats and was credited with three saves.
Junior college transfers Makena Jensen, Yesenia Tijerina, Zitlali Herrera, and Alondra Higareda made their UC Merced debut. Jensen & Tijerina earned the start. Freshman Giulia Salemme logged 17 minutes in her collegiate debut.
Thursday night's win was the first in program history against Hope International. The two teams played to a pair of draws in 2016 & 2017.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will play at The Master's University on Saturday, August 19 at 11:00am.
