COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –San Jose State women's soccer scored two second half goals to pick up a big come from behind victory Sunday over the Air Force Falcons. It's the Spartans' first multi-goal game of the season as the squad improves to 1-1-0 in conference play.
"Our team grew together today, finding a way to win against a talented Air Force squad," head coach Lauren Hanson said.
After a sluggish opening 45 minutes in which they put up just one shot on offense and gave up an Air Force go-ahead score in the 14th minute, the Spartans settled down in the second half and began to create more chances on the offensive end.
Freshman Sabrina Weinman tied the game in the 68th minute as she took a feed from Maddie Toomer and put up a goal through traffic inside the box. It's Weinman's second goal of the season, tying her for the team lead.
After playing lockdown defense for the next 13 minutes, the Spartans found themselves in another great situation with a two on one opportunity on the right side of the pitch. Toomer took a pass from Carlie James and made a perfect no-look pass back to James who fired from 30 feet out and bent the shoot to the upper-left corner for the game-winner.
The goal was James' second of her career and the first since her freshman season in 2016. Toomer, a freshman, was credited with the first two assists of her Spartan career.
"Ari had a massive save to keep us in the game, Carlie James and Sabrina Weinman were clutch in finishing our chances, Natalia Nava was special today, and every player that came into the game for us today made an impact," Hanson said. "It was a true team effort."
Goalkeeper Ariana Romero had another outstanding afternoon in the net. After conceding the first goal, a chip shot by Lexi Romero that just barely cleared Ariana Romero's reach, the sophomore locked down the net for the rest of day, finishing with a season high-tying seven saves. None were bigger than her save in the 55th minute as she faced Romeo once again, this time on a penalty kick, and corralled the ball in the corner of the net to keep the Spartans in the game.
The Spartans finished with four shots on goal while Air Force tallied eight. The SJSU Defense had their hands full with the Falcons attempting 10 corner kicks, but turned each of them away.
With the win, SJSU improves to 3-5-2 overall while Air Force drops to 6-2-1, 1-1-0. The Spartans will look to keep the momentum rolling on Thursday, October 3, as they welcome Boise State to the Spartan Soccer Complex for a 7:00 p.m. kick.
