Sept. 23, 2016
Las Vegas, Nev. - The San Jose State women's soccer team scored twice in the first 10 minutes and then white-knuckled the final 20 minutes of the match in a 2-1 victory at UNLV in the Mountain West opener for both schools.
"We were just unreal in the beginning," said Spartans' head coach Lauren Hanson. "Both Darriell and Yari's goals were off of combinations and just phenomenal. It was stressful there for a little bit, but I couldn't be happier to get this win in conference and on the road."
Darriell Franklin and the Spartans (4-2-3, 1-0-0 MW) struck first in the fifth minute of action. SJSU sent a ball in from the left side on a free kick and Franklin was there to put the ball in the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
Moments later, Yaritza Arista took a pass from Kristen Amarikwa and fired it past UNLV keeper Jessie Clark from 22 yards away. Arista's goal, her first of the year, put San Jose State ahead 2-0.
The Rebels (7-3-0, 0-1-0 MW) came into the match with the most potent offense in the Mountain West, and they kept SJSU's back line and keeper Paige Simoneau busy in the second half.
The Rebels outshot the Spartans 21-7 in the match, and 12-3 in the last 45 minutes. But Lily Sender's goal in the 30th minute, which made it 2-1, would be all that Simoneau let by.
Simoneau ended up with 12 saves, the most in a single-match since the program's first year of existence in 1995.
"Paige and our back line with Myia Wilkes were just amazing tonight," Hanson said. "This is a really tough place to play. UNLV is very fast and plays with a lot of emotion. It's a credit to our defense and to Paige for the way they held on to finish this match."
Dorthe Hoppius put one of her two shots on goal, and Sabrina Miller had a fourth shot on target for SJSU. Clarke finished with two saves for UNLV.
San José State stays out on the road and faces Nevada on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (PT). The match will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.