BAKERSFIELD, Calif. --- UC Irvine women's soccer got back on the winning track behind
Scarlett Camberos' second hat trick in three games to lead to a 5-0 win Thursday night against CSU Bakersfield.
MOMENTUM SHIFT
The first half rolled along scoreless through the first half hour. UCI (10-5, 5-2) had seven of the match's first eight shots and five early corner kicks searching for the opening strike, and in the 37th minute it would come.
The goal came on a peculiar sequence started by
Scarlett Camberos driving up the right wing. She sped to the touchline feeding a ball into the box to
Alyssa Moore. Her shot trickled along and was blocked back out near the top of the box.
Desiree Mendoza returned a ball back on net that keeper Flavia Burrell got a hand on, but the shot continued on frame and stayed out from the quick reflexes of defender Kayla Edwards, but her hand ball on the goaline led to a red card and penalty for the 'Eaters. Camberos stepped up and finished for a 1-0 lead heading into the half.
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TRICK OR TREAT
The second half began with UCI up a goal and CSU Bakersfield (1-13-2, 0-6-1) down a player, and Camberos took advantage. Five minutes in, she was on the run from a gorgeous lead pass from
Alex Jaquez finishing a 1v1 through Burrell for a 2-0 lead in the 51st minute.
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Camberos was back at it in the 70th minute as an Anteater pass was deflected along by a Roadrunner the streaking Camberos who took it, drove, and scored again completing her hat trick and making it 3-0, 'Eaters. The fourth-year striker recorded her second hat trick in seven days time joining Nicole Bucciarelli as the only players in program history with multiple career hat tricks.
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HITTING THE GAS
The Anteaters spread out the scoring down the final stretch of the match still up a player. A pair of freshmen converted in the matter of 88 seconds started by
Sophie Gillies. Off a set piece along the sideline,
Amber Huff punted a ball into the box landing to Gillies who settled, turned, and slotted a shot inside the far post to make it 4-0 in the 77th minute.
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Just under two minutes later, UCI was attacking down the left flank driving toward the box, and Camberos was on the assisting end this time finding
Sarah Ralston who set up
Autumn Thompkins to finish and make it 5-0 in the 79th minute.
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FINAL SCORE: UC IRVINE 5, CSU BAKERSFIELD 0
The Anteaters improved their standing in the Big West now on 15 points for sole possession of fourth place. The win was UCI's 10th of the year locking up the eighth 10-win campaign for the 'Eaters under head coach
Scott Juniper in his 14 seasons.
Along with all the hat trick accolades, the reigning Big West Offensive Player of the Week now has 11 goals on the season tying her atop the Big West scoring leaders with Long Beach State's Lena Silano, and overtakes the conference points lead at 27. She becomes the first 10-goal scorer for the program since Laura McGrail in 2014. Her 11 goals ties her for eighth-most in a season in program history. Camberos also added an assist for her fifth of the season to lead the team, and her 27 points puts her in the top 10 all-time in a season for the program. To top things off, Camberos knocked home her second game-winner of the year.
"I'm just happy I'm able to keep scoring goals for my team and help put games away. We continue to show that we are strong competitors in the Big West," noted Camberos on her play, but really applauded the complete effort from the team. "We were relenless from the start and got a lot of good opportunities to goal. Coming into the second half, we were determined to execute all of them and put the game away. I think everyone had a really good game, and the pressure we applied stayed consistent throughout the whole game."
UCI own the scoresheet with 28 shots to five for CSUB while turning more than half of them on frame and earning all eight corner kicks. Gillies added her fourth goal putting her second on the squad this year in goals and points with 10. Fellow freshman Thompkins put home her first career goal as the fifth strike, and was assisted by
Sarah Ralston for her first career point. Jaquez accounted for the team's fourth assist and her second of 2021.
Lost in the shuffle was the was the defensive effort led by
Glo Hinojosa and her fifth shutout of the her lowering her conference-low goals-against-average to 0.88 while saving two shots. CSUB's Burrell picked up 11 saves of her own on the other end. The 'Eaters and Runners met up for just the second time all-time, first as Big West opponents, and first since 2007.
ON THE MOVE
Next up is a match Sunday, October 24, as UCI heads to CSUNÂ for its final road game of the regular season. Kickoff comes down at 5:00 p.m. with the broadcast shown on ESPN+.
