ATHERTON, CA – Menlo College Women's Soccer faced a tough battle on Saturday, falling 0-2 to Concordia University Irvine at home. Despite a commendable defensive effort, the Oaks were unable to break through offensively and succumbed to two second-half goals from the visiting Golden Eagles.
Oaks Stuck in Defensive Third
The Oaks showcased their resilience throughout the match, holding CUI scoreless in the first half. Goalkeeper Giorgia Melcore played a key role, making three crucial saves during the opening period to keep the game level at halftime. Menlo's backline, Liv Brunzell, Taryn Thalhamer, Brynn McClymond, and Milan Pineda, consistently stifled CUI's advances, preventing any early breakthroughs and maintaining solid organization under pressure.
However, the second half saw Concordia Irvine find a way through the Menlo defense at the 63rd minute, resulting in their first goal. Menlo fought hard to recover but found themselves trailing further when the Golden Eagles added a second goal in the 82nd minute. The Oaks managed six shots throughout the game, with two on target, but could not convert those chances into goals. Verenia Gonzalez and Aaliyah Grigsby had the best opportunities for the Oaks, both forcing saves from CUI goalkeeper. Menlo's offense, however, struggled to sustain enough pressure to break CUI's solid defense, which registered a shutout.
Team Statistics Comparison
The Golden Eagles held possession in the Oaks defensive third a lot throughout the match, and much more in the second half. This led to 5 corner kick opportunities that Menlo had to clear away. On the other side, Menlo was only able to earn 1 corner kick and could not generate anything from it. Concordia totaled 8 shots, 6 on target, showing their accuracy in their attempts. Menlo struggled to find the same accuracy with 6 shots throughout the 90 minutes, with 2 on frame. The match was level headed and did not require any cautions to either team.
Up Next….
Menlo will look to regroup and focus on their next matchup as they continue to chase their first win of the season in the PacWest. The next face off comes on Thursday, October 3rd at 4:30pm in Rocklin, CA as they see Jessup University on the road.
