IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine struck back to erase a halftime deficit with two second half goals and a complete defensive effort to jump higher in the Big West standings with a 2-1 victory Friday night in Anteater Stadium over Cal Poly.
The Mustangs (6-9-2, 1-4-1) pounced on the opportunities early with the first three shots of the game. The 'Eaters (11-5-1, 3-1-1) lost the services of Grayson Galbraith in the 29th minute following a hard foul and yellow card from Kelly Kessloff. Cal Poly kept the momentum going and took advantage putting home the match's first goal in the 31st minute.
CP attacking sending a low cross along the box that found Jessica Johnson six yards out. Her shot was denied off the line by the Anteater defense, but the rebound fell to Emily Hansen on the doorstep to slam it home and give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. They carried the lead into the half along with a 7-5 shot advantage.
Cal Poly continued to pile up the shots until the 'Eaters earned a corner kick opportunity in the 53rd minute. Reema Bzeih placed a perfect cross in to Galbraith, fresh and recovered from her early knock, to head into the upper right and tie things up, 1-1.
UCI added to its momentum just over two minutes later with Bzeih starting the charge. Her cross hit Lili Andino on the near side of the box, and her flick landed to a charging Noel Baham who put away the shot sneaking it inside the near post to grab the 2-1 lead in the 55th minute.
The Anteaters' joy was short-lived as Cal Poly raced right back with a monster opportunity to tie in the 57th minute.
The Mustangs worked through the midfield getting it to Mackenzie Flood all alone for a 1v1 opportunity, but Maddie Newsom came out to challenge and won sliding to save Flood's shot and cling on to the one-goal advantage.
The chess match picked up down the latter portion of the match with each squad whizzing one real opportunity to score each from Andino and Chelsea Barry, but the defenses would prove stronger to the final whistle, and the Anteaters came away with three big points in the 2-1 victory.
The goal for Baham was her fifth of the season and second game-winner now with 17 points on the year. Galbraith's goal is her second making her the fourth Anteaters with 10 or more points now with 11.
Andino added her second assist while Bzeih scored assists four and five on the year and her first multi-assist performance of the season.
"From last game when we were down at halftime, we didn't want to feel like that again," Bzeih mentioned of the halftime adjustments by the team. "We wanted to come out harder than ever, put away our chances, and go 100%."
Bzeih and the backline held strong in front of Newsom adding a save to her three on the match.
"The great thing about our backline is we're all very composed and we're always talking to each other. We just had to stay smart and be there first, win every ball."
It helped the team earn win number 11 on the year, and lifts them to 3-1-1 in the Big West and sole possession of third place with 10 points. Four schools trail them within three points including Sunday's opponent, UC Santa Barbara, who fell to UC Riverside on the evening. The Anteaters and Gauchos kick off at 2:00 p.m. Sunday in Anteater Stadium with the match getting the ESPN3 treatment.
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