SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. --- UC Irvine again finds a winner in overtime as
Alyssa Moore turned a corner into the net to defeat 2-seed UC Davis Wednesday afternoon, 1-0, in the Big West Semifinal at Mustang Memorial Field.
After more scoreless regulation soccer, UC Irvine (9-5-6, 3-2-5) were into overtime to decide this Big West Championship match. Another 10 scoreless minutes brought the sides to a second overtime where finally a goal was found in the 107th minute.
Similar to the first round match, the 'Eaters set up for a corner kick, and like the previous five goals for UCI,
Amber Huff got the proceedings going. Her perfectly-hooked delivery landed right to
Alyssa Moore breaking for the near post and beating the defender to the ball as she volleyed a shot inside the right post and celebrated to put UCI up, 1-0, with just under three minutes to go.
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Aside from some late cautions, the defense did its job to secure the win and send UC Irvine back to the final for a second straight year.
UC Davis (9-6-4, 6-2-2) and the 'Eaters went through a rather pedestrian first half with nine shots in total and only a handful of chances. UCI turned on the jets in the second half out-shooting UCD 9-5 which included two chances that rang off the crossbar from
Erin Covey and
Destinee Manzo.
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FINAL SCORE / OT: UC IRVINE 1, UC DAVIS 0
- The Anteaters are into the Big West Final for the seventh time in program history in search of their third title and back-to-back titles
- This is the third time UCI is playing in back-to-back finals joining the squads in 1996 and 1997 and again in 2010 and 2011
- Alyssa Moore's goal is her fourth of the season, all game-winners, and dating back to 2021, her last five goals have all been game-winning goals
- Amber Huff again provided the assist, she has now assisted on UCI's last six goals all over a three-match span
- Glo Hinojosa stopped four shots on her way to her 25th career win, 19th career shutout, and fourth in four Big West Championship matches
- Hinojosa has 143 career saves sitting four away from entering UC Irvine's top 10 saves leaders. She also stands seven minutes away from playing 4,000 career minutes
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The Big West Final is set after Long Beach State dropped top seed and host, Cal Poly, 1-0. The Black & Blue Rivalry Series will highlight the final on Sunday, November 6, with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. The 'Eaters and Beach meet for the fourth time in the history of the Big West Tournament with all coming in the championship match.
