IRVINE, Calif. - Fighting back in the second half for a statement win, the University of San Francisco women's soccer team (3-2) was powered to victory by the first career brace from Kaitlyn Sasadeusz as the Dons topped UC Irvine (1-3-1), 2-1, at Crawford Field on Thursday afternoon.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• With UC Irvine defending their home pitch to begin the contest, the first shot of the game for the Dons did not come until 28:33 when Isabella Ayua fired a shot on goal, but was ultimately turned away by opposing goalkeeper Ashley Naylor.
• Following another attempt by Konstantina Konidaris less than one minute later, the match remained scoreless until Mirayah Villalpando found Mia Colombini at 42:13 to put the Anteaters on top.
• After one more shot from Colombini in the closing moments of the first half, UCI went into the locker room holding on to their one goal lead at the break.
• Continuing to attack as the game went on, Ayau attempt another shot at 60:22, but missed wide right. Almost ten minutes later, Kaitlyn Sasadeusz punched back for the green and gold as the sophomore danced through the Anteater defense before pushing one past the keeper at 69:39, tying the score at 1-1.
• With both sides looking to find the go-ahead strike, USF proved to dig deeper down the stretch as Sasadeusz came up clutch in the closing moments on Thursday. With less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation, Allison Kamansky blasted a pass downfield to Sasadeusz, who then evaded an Anteater defender once again before dropping her second goal of the game over the keeper at 89:48.
• Making one last stand on defense as the clock expired, San Francisco went on to celebrate their first road win of the year by taking down UC Irvine, 2-1.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Last week, Sasadeusz found the back of the net for the first time in her collegiate career and followed that performance with her first two-goal game at the collegiate level on Thursday.
• Aside from Sasadeusz, Ayau pressed the Anteater defense all afternoon as the sophomore fired a career-high three shots against UCI.
• Doing her part for the green and gold, Kira Ybarra recorded three saves against UC Irvine, the third time in five matches this season she has tallied at least three saves.

POSTGAME WITH COACH NIJJAR:
"So happy with the resilience we showed. We started off miles off the pace and were getting dominated early by them. They are a very gritty and technical team. I am so happy that we were able to get a bit of foothold on the match in the first half by doing the things we had talked about pre-match. Isabella had a great chance and produced a good save from their keeper. She showed her quality in the box and was a bit unlucky. Kaitlyn made a massive difference coming in and was instantly dangerous…So happy for her that she got her two goals and to be able to weather Irvine's pressure and then counter at the end is a huge testament to the character of this team."
 
UP NEXT:
San Francisco will return home to the Hilltop next week as the Dons will host Southern California next Thursday, Sept. 5 for a 6:00 pm matchup at Negoesco Stadium. Live streaming, live statistics and ticket links are available via the team's schedule page.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco women's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsWSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Planet Orange - for their continued support of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.