On Sept. 23, CSUSM’s Women’s Soccer team went head-to-head with the Chico State Wildcats. With final score of 1-0, the Cougars won their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) game of the season.

The first half of the game took place primarily on the home side, giving the defense some work. The goalie, senior Erica Dory stepped it up with five saves.

Dory saved the Cougars with back-to-back stops on Wildcat attempts. The first shot was a header from Wildcat Erin Woods with her teammate Koire Bozart unsuccessfully going for the rebound.

The first half ended 0-0 with a total of seven shots, two saves from the Wildcats and three shots, five saves from the Cougars.

After halftime, the Cougars’ intense offense pressured Chico’s defense until they received a penalty kick. Junior Kayla Andersen took the shot, making it in the top right corner and securing the first goal of the game at minute 49 in the second half.

The first goal raised the spirits of the Cougars, giving them the confidence to make more shots and step up their offense on the Wildcats’ side of the field.

The Wildcats had the ball with only five minutes remaining and Lindsay Dias attempted to head the ball in, but goalie Dory made an amazing save for the Cougars.

When the time expired, the field erupted with cheers. The Cougars won 1-0 with a total of eight shot attempts; the Wildcats with 12.

Head Coach Bobby Renneisen learned a lot from this game, especially coming back from a loss on Wednesday.

“It shows good character … We learned how to close the game, knowing that the way we play really wears teams down and that they can’t handle that pace and energy through the course of the game … just gives us a lot of confidence, knowing that what we do is effective.”

When asked how she felt after scoring, junior Andersen said, “Definitely think it set the tone up a bit and gave us a little bit more confidence that we were able to shoot and actually get a win.”

Defensive player senior Brie Jones had a different perspective on the game.

“We started off not too hot but we got it together. We worked really well, we were pushing each other, talking non-stop ‒ especially during the second half ‒ and it works. It wears them out and gets in their head.”

The team’s win-loss-tie record stands at 3-1-3 and 1-1-0 in their conference. The Cougars will host Humboldt State at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 30 in The Cage.