John Holton Staff Writer
The Dons rebounded from their loss to UC Berkeley on Friday with a decisive 3-0 win over Nevada in Reno just two days later. This was USF’s second game of the 2014 season, and it brought their overall record to 1-1. Nevada was put at a disadvantage early when Kelsey Quintos, the Wolfpack’s starting goalkeeper, was injured while saving a shot by sophomore defender Jessica Nakae. The Dons started the scoring soon after when senior midfielder Jaciara Mello received the ball on a corner kick and sent it into the goal just out of the reaches of Nevada backup goalkeeper Devyn Bryer.
The Dons did not wait long to strike again. Just a minute later, Nakae notched her first goal of the season to put USF in the driver’s seat with a commanding 2-0 lead. From then on, both teams went for nearly the rest of the game without another goal, but the Dons struck for a third time in the 89th minute when freshman forward Maddy Glaser sent a shot into the top right corner, earning herself her first goal in collegiate play.
The Dons took 14 shots, with nine of them on goal. The Wolfpack, on the other hand, managed just six shots all game.
In their first game of the season, the Dons did not fare nearly as well, losing to UC Berkeley at Goldman Field by a score of 3-1.
Both teams were silent throughout the first half, but the Golden Bears did not wait long to strike in the second, with UC Berkeley’s Lorin Hom scoring the first goal of the game just after the break. The Dons would not go down scoreless, however, and sophomore midfielder Amanda Whittle managed to score her first goal of the season, evening the score to 1-1. Suddenly, the Dons were in prime position to leave Berkeley with a comeback road win.
Whittle’s goal was where the scoring ended for the Dons, though, while it had only just begun for the Golden Bears. A 64th-minute goal by Arielle Ship put UC Berkeley up 2-1, and Ifeoma Onumonu supplied the dagger in the 79th minute, scoring to cement the Golden Bears’ lead and guide them to eventual victory.
The Dons will play their home opener against Portland State on Friday, Aug. 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the USF Tournament. They will also take the field to play LIU Brooklyn on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m. to round out the tournament.
