Box Score      • Final Stats

La Jolla, Calif. – Same venue. Same teams. Same result.
 
Cassie Callahan's 80th-minute goal Thursday rallied third-ranked UC San Diego to a 2-1 win over No. 21 Seattle Pacific in a season-opening women's soccer clash at Triton Soccer Stadium.
 
It was a rematch of last year's NCAA Division II West Region semifinal game that the host Tritons won 2-1 in double overtime to eliminate SPU from the playoffs. UC San Diego finished as the national runner-up, losing 1-0 to West Florida in the 2012 championship game.
 
The Falcons' vengeful mood was visible early on Thursday as they outshot San Diego 11-2 en route to a 1-0 halftime advantage. Goalkeeper Kelcie Brodsky kept UCSD close with five first-half saves.
 
"I'm proud of the fact that we played so well in the first half," said 11th-year SPU coach Chuck Sekyra. "We haven't dominated a great San Diego team like his before, but we have to have more to show for it. The game could have been put away at halftime."
 
Sophomore Laura Moore (Kent, Wash./Kentwood HS) capitalized on the dominating early performance by SPU, which recorded the game's first eight shots and prevented the Tritons from making an attempt during the opening 32 minutes. Junior Alexa Diaz (Burien, Wash./Kennedy HS) slid a low pass from the right flank to Moore who deposited it into the left side of the UCSD goal at 8:50 to open the scoring.
 
"Laura Moore and Alexa Diaz were just terrific. They did a lot of positive work in the midfield," Sekyra said.
 
UCSD equalized 2:10 into the second half when Kiera Bocchino volleyed a shot to the right side off a lofted pass from Rachel Leslie.
 
The Tritons were outshot 20-7, but they made their seventh attempt count when Callahan launched a long shot from outside the box that nestled into the upper left corner for the game winner.
 
SPU nearly drew even in the 87th minute, but a header by senior Josie Graybeal (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) after a corner kick caromed off the crossbar. That was the final shot of the game.
 
Brodsky finished with eight saves and senior goalkeeper Natalie Harold (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS) stopped one shot for SPU.
 
"We need to clean up some things in the back," Sekyra said. "We were the better team tonight, but we don't have anything to show for it. Our message at halftime was that we could get after these guys, but we didn't have that killer instinct."
 
Both teams are former national champions as SPU won the 2008 title and the Tritons won back-to-back crowns in 2000 and 2001. The two West Coast powers are expected to be in the national championship hunt again in 2013.
 
The Falcons remain in San Diego for a game against Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Sekyra hopes his team will put Thursday's difficult lesson into practice Saturday.
 
"We have to be hungry and bounce back. We played well enough to win, but didn't get the result. We have to learn to play hard for 90 minutes and put teams away."


NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013
Triton Soccer Stadium/La Jolla, Calif.

(#3) UC San Diego 2, (#21) Seattle Pacific 1

Scoring – 1, SPU, Laura Moore (Alexa Diaz), 8:50. 2, UCSD, Kiera Bocchino (Rachel Leslie), 47:10. 3, UCSD, Cassie Callahan, 79:02.

Shots – SPU 20, UCSD 7.
Saves – SPU 1 (Natalie Harold), UCSD 8 (Kelcie Brodsky).
Corner Kicks – SPU 6, UCSD 2.
Fouls – SPU 10, UCSD 6.
Offsides – SPU 0, UCSD 3.

Records:
Seattle Pacific 0-1-0
UC San Diego 1-0-0

Next SPU Game:
Seattle Pacific at Point Loma Nazarene
Saturday, Sept. 7, 1:00 p.m.
PLNU Soccer Field/San Diego, Calif.