Late goal by McDuffy lifts Stanislaus to CCAA soccer semifinals
Maryssa McDuffy’s first career goal came at the perfect time Tuesday for the Cal State Stanislaus women’s soccer team.
Her goal in the 88th minute gave Stanislaus an exciting 1-0 win over Cal State Los Angeles and extended the Warriors’ season at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships.
The Warriors (11-5-3) will meet Chico State in the semifinals Friday at Cal Poly Pomona.
Amanda Woodhouse ripped a shot into the box that McDuffy, a junior and former Gregori High School star, rebounded home. McDuffy, a defender, had 11 assists during her career until she broke through.
“Maryssa absolutely took over the game in the second half. She has such a will to win,” Stanislaus coach Gabriel Bolton said. “It was great to see her finish the ball that Mandy ripped into the box.”
The shutout was the team’s ninth and goalkeeper Chelsea Lewandowski’s eighth solo shutout. Bolton was thrilled by the Warriors reaching the semifinals. Stanislaus picked up the sixth and final tournament berth on the final day of the regular season.
“We played absolutely amazing soccer tonight. It’s one thing to win. It’s another to play beautiful soccer and win,” Bolton said. “We always talk about dominating the ball. I thought we did that tonight, especially in the second half.”
Cal State L.A. had beaten Stanislaus 1-0 last week.
“We packed for the entire week. We didn’t check out of the hotel before the match,” Bolton said. “This is exactly where we expected to be, and we are very excited.”
Modesto JC 3, Cosumnes River 1 – Goals in the final 15 minutes by Yaritza Arista and Stephanie Gonzales lifted the Pirates over the Hawks for their fourth consecutive win. Jessica Jauregui assisted on the go-ahead goal for the Pirates (14-4, 8-3 Big 8 Conference), who have jumped into second place behind Santa Rosa (8-0-3) with three games left in the Big 8 race.
Madeline Adams accounted for Modesto’s goal in the first half.
Men’s soccer
Cal State Stanislaus 3, Sonoma State 1 – Senior forward Jose Ramirez scored all three goals for the Warriors in their win over the Seawolves to open the CCAA Championships.
The Warriors (15-3-1) earned another date with Cal State Dominguez Hills in the semifinals Friday at Cal Poly Pomona. Stanislaus upset the fifth-ranked Toros last weekend.
Ramirez, a former Central Valley High star, picked up all three goals during a 14-minute span of the second half. Sonoma led 1-0 since the 19th minute.
Ramirez headed home the first goal after a corner kick by Luis Hernandez. Ramirez’s second goal was another header six minutes later, set up by a long free kick into the 6-yard box by Gerardo Cazares. Hernandez again connected with Ramirez, who finished at the top of the box to complete the hat trick.
The three goals gives Ramirez a career record-leading 23 goals, surpassing teammate Daniel Kuczynski. Ramirez also is the new career leader with 53 points.
Modesto JC 4, Cosumnes River 2 – Two goals apiece by Jose Becerra and Christian Angulo, all in the first half, propelled the Pirates (11-7, 3-3) past the Hawks and into third place in the Big 8 with two games to go.
Angulo, Henry Diaz, Gabriel Ramirez and Humberto Salcedo collected assists for the Pirates.
Cross country
MJC second at Big 8 Championships – MJC, getting healthy at the right time, placed a better-than-expected second behind American River at the Big 8 Championships last Friday at Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa.
Sophomore Harleen Pabla, who splits time with the Pirates’ soccer team, led MJC with a fifth-place performance. She was timed in 19:51 over the 5-kilometer course. Alicia Bargas was 12th (20:52) as five MJC runners placed in the top 18.
The NorCals will be held Friday at Toro Park in Salinas.
This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Late goal by McDuffy lifts Stanislaus to CCAA soccer semifinals."