Sept. 19, 2008

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Behind three goals from their freshmen, the Pacific women's soccer team downed Iona, 3-1, at Stagg Memorial Stadium on Friday, September 19. The win moved the Tigers back to .500 at 4-4-0 on the year while Iona remained winless at 0-8-0.

A game that ended with the Tigers winning comfortably began with Pacific on its heals when Iona posted the first goal of the game before the home crowd could sit down in their seats. Just 2:50 into the game, Pacific committed a critical turnover along the defensive backline which turned into a breakaway opportunity for Stephanie Sommers. With the first shot of the game, Iona had just its second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead on the Tigers.

However, despite the early mistake, the Tigers did not waste anytime righting the ship as they were able to answer back just :28 seconds later to even the score at 1-1. Freshman Kristina Wavomba (Encinitas, Calif.) put the Tigers back on track with her first of two goals in the contest after receiving a pass from senior Laura King (Livermore, Calif.) in the middle of the 18. One-on-one with Iona's 'keeper, Wavomba slotted her shot into the back right corner of the net for her third strike of the season. The assist was King's first of the year.

After the fireworks of the first five minutes, the Tigers and Gaels played even throughout the rest of the first half, heading into the break tied at one goal a piece.

Coming out of the locker room for the final 45 minutes of action, Pacific came out firing, posting 15 second half shots which resulted in two second half goals. After tying the game at 1-1, the pair of Wavomba and King struck for a second time in the 63rd minute of play with Wavomba putting the Tigers up 2-1 with her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Pacific's second goal of the game came off a deflected shot by King which found Wavomba unmarked in front of Iona's goal. With the gift laying at her feet, Wavomba took advantage of being in the right place at the right time, firing a shot into the open net in front of her for her second goal of the contest.

Up one goal, the Tigers picked up an insurance goal in the 76th minute of action on a shot from freshman Alex Topp (San Diego, Calif.). With the ball ricocheting around the Gaels' penalty area, Topp was able to come away with the loose ball just outside of the box. Open to take the shot, Topp lofted a left footed strike towards the far post, finding the back of the net for the first time in her collegiate career.

With the offense firing off a season-high 21 shots throughout the night, Pacific's defense held the Gael attack to just four shots on the night, with two on goal including the one scoring tally. The Gaels posted 11 saves defensively in the contest while the Tigers tallied one.

Pacific will hit the road for its next three contests beginning on Sunday, September 21 at the University of San Francisco. The Tigers game with the Dons will begin at 5:00 pm.