THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran women's soccer team started the 2015 season with a bang, firing past UC Santa Cruz 3-0 on Tuesday night at Rolland Stadium.
The season-opening shutout marked the 100th career victory for head coach Frank Marino, who reached the milestone just one game into his seventh season at the helm of the Regals.
"It just means I've had the opportunity to coach a lot of great players throughout the years," said Marino. "Obviously when you get to coach great players, and they do what you ask them to do, you are going to have a lot of success."
The Regals found a lot of success early on against the Banana Slugs and did not waste very much time before finding the back of the net.
In the sixth minute of the game, senior transfer Raquel Weckhurst eluded a charging goalie with a powerful shot from 30 yards out that found the top left corner of the goal. Katelyn Kimball set the play up nicely with a perfectly timed pass between two defenders and Weckhurst finished for the first goal of her CLU career.
Also scoring her first career goal for the Regals was senior captain Mallory Carcich. The defender from Lakeview Terrace, Calif. took a free kick from distance and lofted the ball into the back corner of the net to give CLU a 2-0 lead in the 33rd minute.
Just 49 seconds later, freshman Ryley Settles kept with the theme, scoring her first career goal, and gave the Regals a 3-0 lead in the first half. Weckhurst started the play off with some nifty footwork in the box and fired a shot from close range. The UCSC goalie made a diving deflection that set the ball up for a charging Settles who poked it into the goal.
The Regals outshot the Banana Slugs 15-10, including 10-5 in the first half, and held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks. Settles tallied a game-high four shots while Weckhurst and Bri Pinal added three shots apiece. Coral Hasley recorded her first career shutout and totaled two saves in the game.
Joining Weckhurst and Settles in making their CLU debuts were freshmen Sarah Tadeusiak, Keara Schromm, Nikole Prelooker, Emily Williams, Cameron Baggs, Kelsey Rouse, Izzy Chelini, Michaela Cosentino, Jordan Miller and junior transfer Miranda Campos.
Cal Lutheran (1-0) will return to Rolland Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5 for a tough test against No. 22 Washington (Mo.) at 2:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 3, UCSC 0
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