By Ryanne Rich, contributor

The San Diego State women’s soccer team took home the victory at the 9/20 game against the University of Northern Colorado at the SDSU Sports Deck with a final score of 5-0. University of Northern Colorado marks the last non-conference game for the Aztecs before they head into their first season in the Pac-12. The Aztecs’ high from the win against Pepperdine on 9/17 appears to have carried over into this game as well, as they brought in strong offense straight out of the gate.

Starting the game off with possession of the ball, SDSU was quick to assert their dominance against the Bears, with their first shot attempt being made not even ten minutes into the 1st half by 5th-year midfielder, Katie Senn. Just a minute later, San Diego went for the goal again at 10:11, but the attempt was quickly saved by UNC goalie Thordis Melsted.

San Diego State truly held onto possession of the ball as though their lives depended on it, and this worked out in their favor as 15 minutes in, senior Kendall Moore found the back of the net through an assist from Alexis Leath, bringing the score to 1-0.

The wins wouldn’t stop here for the Aztecs, though, as 3 minutes later the next goal of the game would be secured by Katie Senn, bringing the team to 2-0. Despite it being incredibly early in their match against Northern Colorado, the drive that the San Diego
State girls bring to their match shows in how impeccable their gameplay is.

The attack from San Diego didn’t stop here, though. Freshman KK Chowana-Bandu scored for the Aztecs in the 33rd minute of the game, bringing the score to 3-0. Only a freshman at SDSU, Chowana-Bandu’s stellar performance at the previous Pepperdine game carried through into today’s match, proving her to be a player to watch.

Towards the end of the 1st half, SDSU appeared to lose a little bit of their steam, with UNC taking more control of the ball.

Despite this, UNC could not score a goal, closing the first period with a score of 3-0. The gameplay of this match was a bit lopsided, with SDSU having 12 shot attempts and 7 shots on goal compared to UNC with 1 shot attempt and 1 shot on goal. The odds are stacked against UNC based on the stats unless they make a miraculous comeback in the second half of the game.

Unfortunately for the Bears, the comeback never quite came, with the second half of the game proving to be the same. San Diego State was incredibly fast and smart with all of the plays the entire match.

The wins just kept coming for SDSU, as at the 58-minute mark, forward Brihana Geiger, assisted by Katie Senn, made a header goal, helping the Aztecs lead 4-0. The San Diego State girls continued to make shot after shot, just barely missing the goal in their attempts to score.

And in the 82nd minute of the game, SDSU sophomore Naima Castro sealed her team’s victory with her score, not even 10 seconds after she had been subbed in. It was a swift win for the Aztecs, with their match against Northern Colorado ending with a final score of 5-0. With their dominant victory, San Diego State looks to carry their offensive momentum into their next match.