Aug. 21, 2016
San Jose, Calif. --- It took over 104 minutes, but the San Jose State women's soccer team got the goal it needed - a golden goal off the foot of Alexis Venegas for a 1-0 victory over Sacramento State.
"Myia sent a great ball in and Didi got a tip on it with her head," Venegas said. " I was all by myself and I just slotted it in."
Venegas' goal looked like many of the attempts SJSU had before throughout the match. But Sacramento State keeper Destiny Butcher was stingy, making four huge saves in the second half and in overtime.
"Their goalie made so many stops, and thank god that one went in," Venegas said. "We had so many opportunities and finally that one went in. We really deserved to win that game."
The Spartans (1-0-1) put eight of 27 shots on goal while the Hornets (1-1-0) had three of their seven shots on target.
"To come out and win on a Sunday in another double-overtime really showed a lot of character for our team," said SJSU head coach Lauren Hanson. "To finally get that one in felt really good for everybody who had taken shot after shot. To get that first win under your belt is huge."
Myia Wilkes, who sent in the initial pass for the game-winning goal, was credited with the first assists of her Spartan career. Dorthe Hoppius was also credited with an assist.
Paige Simoneau earned her first career win between the pipes for the Spartans. She made three saves on Sunday and has begun the year with consecutive shutouts.
San Jose State's next match is against UC Irvine on August 26. The match will be played in Boise, Idaho, as part of Boise State's in-season tournament. Check SJSUSpartans.com for streaming and stats information.