SEASIDE, Calif. — For 78 minutes, Cal State Monterey Bay went toe-to-toe with the No. 7 ranked team in the nation. But a penalty awarded to UC San Diego in the 79th minute broke the seal and held up in a 1–0 Triton victory Saturday at the Otter Sports Complex.

The penalty call came after UCSD's Katie O'Laughlin sent a right-to-left cross high across the box. The ball sailed over the heads of 5–3 Triton forward Mandy Samilo and 5–10 Otter defender Hayden Gabbert. Although replays showed that neither player had a chance to make a play, a penalty was award when Gabbert knocked Samilo over from behind.

Natalie Saddic stepped to the spot and her well–struck shot skimmed the bottom of the crossbar en route to her second goal of 2017.

UCSD ended the match out–shooting CSUMB 18–8, but the Otters actually had the better of the run of play early. They created the best scoring chance of the first half only to see Sahana Bojorquez (Huntington Beach/Spring Valley HS) denied by the post in the 22nd minute.

From there, CSUMB relied on the continued strong play of sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Noh (Aliso Niguel HS), who made a season–high 10 saves Sunday afternoon. 
 

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THE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… Natalie Saddic converted from the spot in the 79th minute. It was the final scoring chance of the day for either team.

AN (ALMOST) PERFECT 10… Alyssa Noh's 10 saves Saturday afternoon were her season high, the second most of her career and the third most ever by an Otter in a single match. Victoria Whyte set the CSUMB record with 14 saves against UCSD on Oct. 9, 2016. Noh posted 13 saves in a win over Chico State on Sept. 18, 2016.

BETTER THAN AVERAGE… Alyssa Noh finished the 2017 season with a 0.92 goals against average. That mark ranks No. 2 on the CSUMB single–season list, trailing only the 0.69 GAA posted by Lily Garza in 2013. 

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: None; GOALS: None; ASSISTS: None; SHOTS: Hannah Kind 2; SAVES: Alyssa Noh 10.

THE LAST WORD… "I felt like we played a really amazing brand of soccer against the top team in the conference, so it makes me happy looking forward. What we've done all season will eventually pay off in the end. " — CSUMB Head Coach Laura VanWart

THEY'VE GOT NEXT…  The Otters brought the curtain down on 2017 with Saturday's match. They'll return to the field with a handful of friendlies in the spring. Follow Otter soccer on www.OtterAthletics.com for details as they become available.