Box Score The 2009 season for Cal State San Marcos women's soccer came to an end on Saturday, as the squad lost 1-0 in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round to Vanguard.
CSUSM finishes the season with a 10-5-4 record. Vanguard, the #8 seed nationally, improves to 13-1-6 and advances to the NAIA National Championship in Alabama.
In what was a tightly-contest match that resembled the one between these two teams in September, Vanguard's defense smothered the Cougars' offense, limiting San Marcos to 3 shots on the day. Keeper Kaycee Gunion, the A.I.I. Conference Tournament MVP, kept CSUSM in the game by making a season-high 8 saves, but it wasn't quite enough.
The game's lone goal came in the 17th minute. San Marcos was whistled for a hand-ball in the box to give Vanguard a penalty kick, and Karri Currier capitalized on it.
Senior Clarissa Hidalgo led the Cougars with two shots, and Kelly Wherry took one.
Despite the loss, it was still quite a second half of the year for CSUSM. The Cougars rallied from a lackluster 3-4-3 start to win their second-consecutive conference championship.
"We were out-worked today," commented CSUSM Head Coach Ron Pulvers. "But there's no other team I'd rather be coaching. Our team overcame a lot this year."
