IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine women's soccer finished an unbeaten weekend thanks to more offensive and defensive performances to drop San Diego, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in Anteater Stadium.
The two stories in the match were
Claire Grouwinkel and
Maddie Newsom building off their roles in Friday's win.
San Diego (4-4-1) nearly turned the match on its head with a hard 1v1 foul of
Lili Andino in the third minute happening just outside the box, but defender Devyn Kelsey was only issued a yellow card keeping each team at 11 a side.
Newsom was the first on the scene to step up continuously turning USD striker Summer Mason away. She punched away her attempt in the 16th minute leaving a rebound of Katie Lapomarda who shot hers high to keep the game scoreless.
Grouwinkel stepped up next running onto a long feed from
Alex Karlowitsch and finishing around Torero keeper Amber Michel to put UCI (4-5-1) ahead, 1-0, in the 24th minute.
Grouwinkel was quick to add to her total getting another 1v1 chance in the 27th minute taking Michel on and beating her to her right to suddenly make it a 2-0 Anteater advantage.
Newsom reemerged just before the half making an initial stop against Mason, and the rebound fell to Milan Moses who Newsom challenged and blocked keeping the 'Eaters up 2-0 into halftime.
With the shots even at 6-6 entering the second half, the USD attack pressured UCI accounting for all eight of the second half shots.
The tandem of Mason and Moses each had cross attempts snuffed out by Newsom before she turned away shots on goal from them. Katie Lapomarda had two magical chances in the 71st minute that Newsom would find a way to tip the first shot up, and the rebound found Lapomarda again who punched another shot from five yards out into Newsom as she would smother that and keep the lead at 2-0.
USD finally deciphered Newsom and it was Summer Mason, even though she was initially stopped, the rebound off Newsom deflected off the charging Mason and over Newsom to break up the shutout, 2-1, in the 76th minute.
Newsom and her backline were able to manage the final 14 minutes of play slowing the Torero attack and winning their second match in a row, 2-1.
Newsom finished with nine saves in the match, tying a career high, and she even produced her first career assist helping along Grouwinkel's first goal.
For Grouwinkel, she triples her career goal total with four goals on the weekend and her second straight two-goal game. Her second goal of the match also turned out being her first career game-winning goal.
Assisting on the goals were also
Elizabeth Hutchison, helping along the second goal for her second career assist, and
Alex Karlowitsch, who assisted on both goals, and leaps her into a tie for eighth-most all-time with 15 in her career alongside Natalia Ledezma.
USD's Summer Mason finished with eight of the 20 total shots in the match turning six on frame including her unassisted goal. Keeper Amber Michel did not record a save in net.
UC Irvine gets the win in its first of four straight home matches with the next coming up Friday, Sep. 28, with a 7:00 p.m. matchup with Hawai'i to open up Big West play that will also be shown on ESPN3.
NOTES: Newsom's win is the 27th of her career in net, tying Jenn Randazzo for fourth in UCI history...Newsom surpassed Randazzo in career saves, and she is now tied with Amee Chapman with 180 saves, tied for fifth in program history...
Alex Karlowitsch recorded her third 2-assist match, the others coming as a junior (Sep. 4, 2016 vs. Pittsburgh) and as a freshman (2014 vs. UC Davis)...senior
Kelsee Pottorff played her 50th career match Sunday, the 73rd Anteater with 50+ saves
