LA JOLLA, Calif. – Nationally-ranked No. 5 UC San Diego scored in the 84^th minute on a goal by Maddy Samilo to lead the Tritons to a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Western Washington in a battle of West Region rivals Saturday afternoon at Triton Soccer Stadium.
 
The Vikings end their San Diego road trip 1-1-0 after beating Point Loma 2-1 in double overtime in Thursday's season opener. UCSD improves to 2-0-0 while extending its unbeaten streak to 19 straight dating back to last season (16-0-3).
 
It was a tale of two halves for the Vikings (1-1-0), who out-shot the Tritons 6-2 in the first half, but UCSD took control in the second half with 12 shots compared to WWU's one.

"It was definitely two different halves," said 16^th-year head coach Travis Connell. "We had more possession in the first half but were not able to create a lot of chances. And in the second half they kind of had their way, moved the ball and created a lot of chances. We made a mistake and they got behind us and executed a nice goal."
 
UCSD got on the board first in the 84^th minute when Maddy Samilo got behind the WWU defense and beat goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State) one-one-one and finished with a shot from close range.
 
Trailing with six minutes left in regulation, the Vikings appeared to net the equalizer in the 87^th minute, but a goal by junior Liv Larson (Arlington, WA) was called off on an offside call. Senior defender Taylor Hallquist (Vancouver, WA/Columbia River) delivered a long pass to a streaking Larson, who flicked the ball past the UCSD keeper. After a slight delay and a meeting of the officials, the flag went up and the goal was called off.
 

The Vikings and Tritons were each kept off the scoreboard in the first half, with WWU holding a 6-2 advantage in shots. It was the Tritons that had the best scoring chance in the 37^th minute when Roni Merrill connected on a header off a corner kick from Ashlynn Kolarik, but Dierickx made a nice save as the loose ball inched toward the goal line.
 
UCSD had another scoring chance in the 61^st minute when senior forward Mary Reilly found space in the 18-yard box and headed a bounding ball towards the goal that was saved by Dierickx. The Tritons again threatened in the 70^th minute when Megumi Barber fired a cross through the box that narrowly missed the foot of a streaking Marissa Ray.
 
"The job for us is to keep getting better each time out, but there are some more things we need to solve and are still a work in progress," added Connell. "We are excited to get back home and start training for Thursday's home opener at Harrington Field."
 
WWU returns home to host a pair of non-conference matches next week at Harrington Field, beginning with Thursday's home opener vs. Holy Names at 7 pm. The Vikings will then host perennial national contender MSU Denver, the 2004 and 2006 NCAA II national champions, on Saturday, September 8 at 7 pm. Single-game and season tickets for Western's nine home games can be purchased at WWUVikings.com/Tickets.
 
All home matches will be streamed on GNAC.tv and VikingsTV with links available at WWUVikings.com/Live.
 
Game Note: WWU was not credited with a shot on goal in the game, marking the first time in 147 games to not record a shot on goal dating back to a 1-0 loss on Sept. 24, 2001 at Montana State Billings.