Facing their second tough NCAA opponent in three days, Cougar women's soccer played Cal State Stanislaus to a 0-0 tie at home on Sunday.

CSUSM is now 2-0-1 on the year.

Momentum in the evenly-matched contest was swung in the 45th minute. At the end of a tight first half, Cougar forward Clarissa Hidalgo was given a questionable second yellow card, forcing her ejection from the game, and requiring CSUSM to play 10-on-11 for the rest of the match.

But rather than folding, the Cougars confronted the disadvantage with renewed commitment. CSUSM worked hard for all 110 minutes on Sunday, hustling to loose balls, challenging hard but not recklessly, and creating opportunities whenever they had a chance.

“The team gave a terrific, spirited, gutty effort today,” commented Coach Ron Pulvers. “We've progressively gotten better this season.”

CSUSM's defense proved stout yet again, and remains un-scored upon in now a total of 290 minutes this season. A big part of that is freshman keeper Kaycee Gunion, who made a couple huge game-saving stops Sunday, and who has played like a veteran all season.

“Kaycee has been a very stable piece,” noted Pulvers. “She's a great goalie.”

Keying the defense in front of Gunion was Lauren Hernandez, who has been brilliant this season, and was “absolutely phenomenal” on Sunday, according to Pulvers. Fellow defender Michele Ramirez also played very solid, as did the rest of the defense. When CSUSM was on the attack, midfielder Taylor Ziencina was her usual lively self, creating many of the team's scoring chances.

With the game well into overtime and all the players running on fumes, Cal State Stanislaus produced the contest's best scoring chance. In the 107th minute, Stanislaus played a ball into the box, and got Gunion off her line. The loose ball was kicked towards the corner, destined for the side netting – when a Stanislaus player tried to put one last touch on it, and ended up heading it harmlessly out of bounds. Call it good luck, good karma, or divine intervention – whatever it was, the Cougars will take it.

CSUSM will look to remain unbeaten at UCSD on Wednesday.