Box Score
(Berkeley, Calif.) - San Francisco women's soccer pieced together two halves Friday, but were unable to take down Denver, falling 3-1, in the opening match of the 2011 Cal Invitational at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley. Megan Connor scored her first goal of the season to help the Dons avoid the shutout.
With the loss, USF falls to 0-4-0 on the season, while Denver remains undefeated, 4-0-0.
"It's always disappointing when you lose," said head coach Mark Carr. "I thought we were a better team. Denver is a talented team, but we completely dominated them in the first half. We didn't deal well with our marks in the box and they punished us for it. There wasn't an offside call when I thought there should have been and at 2-0, it takes the momentum out of the game."
Denver got on the board first at 28:30 as Nicholette DiGiacomo connected with Kalie Vaughn and Kristen Hamilton. Following a cross off the flank and a header, DiGiacomo connected to get the ball past Gabby Guaiumi.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Pioneers took control a drive two thirds of the way down the field. With an offensive advantage, DU's Kristen Hamilton knocked a shot that was deflected by Guaiumi. With Guaiumi diving to her left, the ball bounced out to the feet of Anna Willis, who placed the ball in the back of the goal to put Denver up 2-0.
At 59:11, Denver's Kari Storslett drew a red card, giving San Francisco a one player advantage for the rest of the match.
The Pioneers struck again at 65:19, as Kaitlin Bast took on the USF goalie and Denver up 3-0.
USF answered a minute later with a goal from Connor, who earned the start for the Green and Gol. Freshman Mackenzie Krieser took a shot that rocketed off the crossbar. Connor grabbed the rebound and nailed it into the goal to help the Dons avoid the shutout.
"In the big picture, the thing that excites me about this group is the enormous talent," added Carr. "We create so many chances. We fought hard to the end and didn't give up. Two weeks ago, that's something we didn't have. It's hard for me to believe we are an 0-4 team and I know things will change if we keep fighting and do that right thing. I am excited for Sunday to play Kent State. They are a talented team and if they dont show up it, it will be a problem."
The match was evenly played offensively, as Denver held slight 18-15 shot advantage over San Francisco. Both squads took seven corner kicks.
Denver's goalkeepers, Maria Khan and Lara Campbell, garnered eight saves, while Guaiumi earned six.
San Francisco will continue play at the Cal Invitational Sunday as they face Kent State at 12:30.
