Sunshine Fontes Hat Trick Helps UCLA Women's Soccer Blow Out CSUN
The Bruins jumped ahead early, and they never took their foot off the gas in their pursuit of besting the Matadors.
No. 6 UCLA women's soccer (2-0) blew out CSUN (1-2) by a score of 6-0 on Thursday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The victory stood in sharp contrast to the Bruins' 1-0 win over Iowa in their season opener, with the goals coming in droves this time around.
Senior forward Sunshine Fontes accounted for three of them all on her own, and all three came from outside the box.
Fontes got the scoring started in the 11th minute, taking on four separate defenders after receiving a pass from sophomore defender Lilly Reale near midfield. Fontes weaved her way through the opposition, absorbing contact and chasing down deflections before eventually launching one into the top left corner from 20 yards out.
Goal No. 2 for Fontes came just 10 minutes later, when she gathered a rebound off a blocked shot and one-timed it high past the keeper yet again.
Fontes scored her third goal of the evening in the 60th minute, with the match already effectively over. The Wahiawa, Hawaii, native sank a set piece from 25 yards out, securing her first career hat trick and putting the Bruins up 5-0.
Freshman midfielder Sofia Cook further locked down the win when she scored her first collegiate goal in the 76th minute. Cook followed Fontes' lead to tack on the insurance, settling a failed clearance just outside the box and ripping it low and to the left for the long-distance goal.
Sophomore forward Lexi Wright scored 15 minutes into the match, while junior defender Maya Evans scored in the 47th.
The Bruins' offense outpaced in the Matadors' in nearly every major statistical category, notably attempting 34 shots compared to the visitors' two.
UCLA got 22 shots on goal and took 10 corner kicks, while CSUN only had two shots on goal and one corner kick attempt. If it weren't for 16 saves by Matador goalkeeper Taylor Thames, the lopsided final score could have been even more drastic.
Senior Lauren Brzykcy started in goal for the Bruins, but only played 30 minutes. Junior Kelly McManus closed out the first half, then sophomore Faith Nguyen came out for the second before handing things off to freshman Neeku Purcell for the final 35 minutes. McManus and Purcell recorded one save each, while Brzykcy and Nguyen did not see a shot come their way.
UCLA will play its first road game of the year Sunday at Santa Clara, with kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. The match against the Broncos is the first of three-straight away games for the Bruins, who will then head east to take on Duke and North Carolina.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PERCY ANDERSON/UCLA ATHLETICS