Oct. 26, 2014
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Senior Gabriella Stange scored on a penalty kick in the 107th minute, as the San Jose State women's soccer team defeated Air Force 2-1 in its final home match of the season.
"I'm thrilled to see Gabe step up," said head coach Lauren Hanson. "She stepped up and said I'm going to take the penalty kick. She's been a leader all season long. She's our captain, and in a moment like that you want your captain to step up and that's what she did."
San Jose State (7-8-3, 4-5-1) was rewarded with a penalty kick after Alexis Venegas was taken down inside of the penalty box. Stange stepped up and beat Air Force (7-9-1, 4-5-1) goalkeeper, Alex Kahlley to the right for the game-winning goal.
"I'm still numb," said Stange following her game-winning goal. "It was like an accumulation of the whole season. We put in all the work and today it paid off. We have to keep showing up and play a full 90 minutes. We have to out compete other teams and keep moving the ball because that's when we're at our best."
In the 84th minute, Carley McBeath put the Spartans up 1-0 with a shot from 25 yards outside the box. McBeath's shot from the right side of the pitch found its way over the outstretched hands of Kahlley for the go ahead goal. The mark was the second of the season for McBeath.
However, Air Force would respond just minutes later. Brooke Rittman maneuvered her way from the left to right side of the box. Rittman then took the shot with her right foot and beat Zoe Makrigiannis with a shot to the left for the equalizer.
McBeath nearly earned her second goal of the day and the game-winner in the 94th minute off a free kick. McBeath took an attempt from nearly 30 yards out. The shot hit the bottom of the top post and seemed to cross the goal line, but Kahlley was able to jump on the ball to keep the match going.
The San José State defense held Air Force to just four shots, while taking 21 attempts. The four chances for Air Force was least amount of opportunities the Spartans have allowed all season. Air Force was also held without a corner kick in the match, while the Spartans took six.
"We have to take it one day at a time, and keep practicing the way we have been practicing," said Hanson. "I thought we had some fantastic opportunities on goal. Carley played fantastic today, Venegas had another great game, Kareli Rodriguez was strong for us, and Lupita Estrada stepped up today. Our mentality today was to play strong for the seniors today, and that's what we did."
San Jose State now sits in seventh place in the current Mountain West standings, trailing Boise State. The top six squads qualify for the upcoming Mountain West Championships. SJSU will have to win, and hope for a Boise State loss or tie to keep its season alive.
San Jose State will return to the pitch on Friday, October 31 when they travel to face Fresno State in its final match of the season. Match time is slated for 7:00 p.m. PT.
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