IRVINE, Calif. – Perhaps it was fitting that neither team ceded a goal on Saturday as two of the top women's soccer teams in the PacWest Conference went head-to-head on the pitch.
Concordia University Irvine and Point Loma Nazarene University have both spent time in the national rankings this season and the Golden Eagles entered this week receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches D2 Poll for the second straight time. A big reason for that is the attention to detail by both programs and how both these teams play superb defense.
Both squads feature two of the best goalkeepers in the league. In fact, Concordia's
Riley Urquiza and Point Loma's Julia Pinnell shared PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year honors last season.
Urquiza came up with four saves including a big one at point blank range off a corner in the first half. Pinnell made five stops to keep pace.
With her eighth clean sheet this fall, Urquiza extended her school record for career individual shutouts to 27. The senior recently passed CUI alum Bekah Garvin (25) who had held that record for nearly 15 years.
CUI also extended its home unbeaten streak to a whopping 21 matches. The Golden Eagles are an incredible 17-0-4 over the course of their last 21 games played in Irvine dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season.
Ultimately, CUI earned four shots in the first 25 minutes of this game but then Point Loma started to gain some momentum. To be fair, Point Loma was also whistled for offsides on six different occasions which prevented a handful of extra scoring chances from developing for the visitors. The two teams combined for 25 total shots and nine of those were on target.
CLICK HERE for the updated PacWest Conference women's soccer standings
Concordia's five-game home stand continues this Wednesday, Oct. 15 with another PacWest Conference match at 4 p.m. PT against Vanguard. The men's match will follow at 6:30 p.m. under the lights.
Senior Day for the ladies will be this coming Saturday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. against Azusa Pacific.
CLICK HERE for the full CUI women's soccer schedule