Oct. 30, 2009

Box Score

Click here to listen to Coach Joe Mallia's post-game interview.

LOS ANGELES - Junior Julie Gallaudet had a goal and an assist - breaking the LMU single-season assists record - to help LMU to a 2-0 victory over visiting San Francisco in a West Coast Conference match Friday afternoon at Sullivan Field. Senior Kristen Garcia completed the scoring in her final home match as the Lions (10-6-2, 2-3-1 WCC) sending their 11 seniors out with a win in the finale at Sullivan Field. The win gives LMU four straight seasons of 10 or more victories while extending its shutout and win streak against the Dons (6-6-5, 1-4-0 WCC) to 12 matches.

With 11 seniors on the roster, LMU was determined to send them out on a winning note. Coming off its first home defeat of the season two weeks ago against #2 Portland and having lost three in a row overall, LMU was also eager to get back into the win column. The Lions did just that, dominating the possession over the opening half hour before Gallaudet broke the deadlock at 30:33. Off a corner kick, junior Kelley Lawson swung in her delivery to Gallaudet, who was unmarked at the near post to head down and past USF goalie Kelly Pohle. The goal was Gallaudet's third of the year and eighth of her career.

After that, it was just a matter of LMU keeping the Dons off the board. The Lions have not conceded a goal to USF since 1997, a string of 1185 minutes. The closest that the Dons came in this one was in the 35th minute, when senior Allyssa Clark had to sprawl to her left to push away a shot from Keonna Robinson.

The scoreline would stay at 1-0 until two minutes from the end, when LMU Head Coach Joe Mallia made sure to get playing time for all of his seniors. Garcia entered the game in the 82nd minute and grabbed her first goal of the year five minutes later. For the ninth time this year, Gallaudet played the role of provider, beating her defender on the left side and crossing to the six-yard box, where Garcia and a defender battled. Garcia got the final touch to conclude her home tenure with the third goal of her career.

For Gallaudet, the assist breaks a tie she shared with Cindy Carullo (1993), Jessica Lyon (1997), and teammate Lily Sorentino (2008) for the most by an LMU player in a season. She also moved into a tie with Sorentino and Carullo for fourth place on the career assists list with 14 while her 30 career points put her in a tie for eighth all-time at LMU.

LMU held a 10-7 shot advantage in the match, marking the ninth time this season that they have recorded double-digit shot attempts. Clark made three saves in a shade under 88 minutes before being replaced by senior Eugenia Miranda, who was not required to make a save in her first game action since 2007. Pohle stopped three shots for USF.

The win was a fitting conclusion to the home career of LMU's 11 seniors - Clark, Garcia, Miranda, Tiffany Harrison, Kim Feeney, Lacey Bartels, Michelle Kanama, Leslie Grandy, Jill Sweetnam, Katrina Chong, and Nikki Martinez. Together, they become the second LMU senior class to record 10-or-more victories in four straight seasons and they have a combined four-year record of 42-21-12, a .640 winning percentage. Both the total wins and winning percentage trails only the class of 2000, who went 48-22-6 (.671).

With the victory, LMU climbs into fourth place in the WCC standings with one game to go. The Lions conclude the regular season next Saturday, November 7, at Saint Mary's.