SAN JOSE, Calif. - Nevada women's soccer captured its first Mountain West win of the 2022 season by defeating San Jose State 1-0 on Thursday night at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
The Pack recorded their fourth shutout of the season, with fifth year goalkeeper Kendal Stovall anchoring the defense with 10 saves. Stovall recorded her 12th career shutout in the net, needing just one more to obtain the program's career shutout record.
"I know our senior class are filled with girls who have a lot of passion and important roles on this team," Stovall said. "At the end of the day, we want to win so badly. We want to give our forwards an opportunity to win the game for us. All we can do as a defense is keep the team in it and we've been doing that so far."
Opening the match with three shots, Nevada's offense set the tone for the first half. San Jose State took the Pack's heat by firing four shots on goal, with Stovall coming up with four saves during that stretch.
Sophomore Emily Rich missed her first shot of the match to the right, but that didn't stop her from connecting one minute later. Rich, a 2021 All-Mountain West Freshman Team honoree, scored her third goal of the season off the assist from freshman Abigail Souza in the 24th minute that gave the Pack the one-goal lead. Nevada protected its advantage for the final 21 minutes of the first half and went into halftime with the momentum.
"That goal hit differently because it was a team effort," Rich said. "I know my team was behind my back the entire time. It took a lot of grit and a lot of effort to hold them during the match."
San Jose State pushed early to tie the match, but Stovall came up with a pair of saves to keep the Pack in front. The Pack's defense tamed the San Jose State offense for 20 minutes, but the Spartans' attack returned with 14 minutes to play.
Stovall came up with her ninth save in the 76th minute and Nevada's defense forced San Jose State's next four shots off target. San Jose State used one last shot in an attempt to tie the match, but Stovall snatched the save that sealed the win for Nevada.
"They were coming at us really hard in the second half and it was very difficult," Stovall said. "The defense and I could not quit. If anything, we raised our level in the second half. The results showed that we held them down."
Nevada wraps up a three-game road Mountain West road trip on Sunday, taking on Fresno State at 12 p.m.
Postgame Notes
- Nevada won at San Jose State for the first time since Oct. 6, 2013.
- The Pack collected its fourth shutout of the season. It is the first time since 2016 Nevada has collected at least four shutouts in a year.
- Nevada has now won or tied San Jose State in three of its last four meetings with the Spartans.
- Fifth year goalkeeper Kendal Stovall recorded a season-high 10 saves, the first time since Oct. 1, 2021 she obtained double-digit saves.
- Stovall obtained her 16th win at Nevada, now the third-most in program history.
- Freshman Abigail Souza collected her first collegiate assist. She is one of four freshmen on the team to have at least one assist.
- Senior Madison Taylor obtained her first start of the season on Thursday.
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