HAYWARD, Calif. -- Sophomore #Jessica Murphy# tallied a penalty kick score at the end of the first period and added an assist in the second as Cal State Dominguez Hills picked up its third-straight win in a 2-0 win over host Cal State East Bay, the Toros' second 2-0 win over the Pioneers in a span of 12 days.
The two teams traded chances in the first frame, with Dominguez Hills out-shooting the Pioneers, 8-5, in the initial 45 mintues. The Toros got on the board with just over three minutes left in the first half. After a Toros corner kick and a scramble for the ball in the box, #Lauren Ruvalcaba# blasted a shot that an East Bay defender knocked out of the air with her hands, resulting in a penalty kick for Dominguez Hills. Murphy took the penalty for the Toros and converted with a shot on the ground past CSUEB keeper Nina Cefalo to take a 1-0 advantage.
The second half saw both teams continue to create quality scoring opportunities, with CSUDH throwing 10 shots at Cefalo and the Pioneers matching their first half output with five shots. In the opening 30 minutes of the half, the Toros won five corners and took eight of their shots.
With the momentum building, CSUDH finally broke through again in the 76th minute. Murphy fed a short corner to #Karina Jahn#, who played the ball back to Murphy, who fired a shot that #Makenzie Pedrotti# got a head on to deflect it past Cefalo and into the back of the net. The score marked Pedrotti's sixth of the season and gave the Toros the 2-0 lead.
Though the Pioneers continued to battle, they could only manage one more shot in the final 14 minutes, finishing the match with 10 shots. Toro keeper and reigning CCAA Player of the Week #Alyssa Congdon# needed four saves, including three in the opening half, to record the shutout. On the other end, Cefalo posted six saves on the Toros 18 shots.
Murphy paced all players with five shots and three points in the match, while sophomore midfielder Zuly Diaz led the Pioneers with three shots.
The Toros, now at 12-7, 10-5 CCAA, face UC San Diego in their regular season finale, needing a win or a CS San Bernardino loss to claim the fourth and final spot in the upcoming CCAA Conference Tournament.
(Courtesy CSUEB)
