OREM, Utah-- Second half goals from Aminah Settles and Kate McMullin helped the CSU Bakersfield women's soccer team draw within one goal of Western Athletic Conference leader Utah Valley on Sunday morning. Despite their best efforts to equalize in the final minutes, CSUB was unable to complete the comeback on the road as the Roadrunners fell 3-2.

“We came within touching distance of pulling off the unthinkable today,” said CSUB's Head Coach, Gary Curneen, after the battle. “How the girls responded to setbacks speaks volumes of their character and I'm proud of what they did in the second half. We still have things to work on as we reach crunch time in the season, but, the first step is getting our attitude right and these girls are made of the right stuff.”

Two first-half goals from the Wolverines put the Roadrunners in a deep hole. Sheridan Fox scored her seventh of the season to put UVU ahead 1-0 in the 28th minute. 36 seconds before the halftime whistle, Fox buried her second of the game to go up two goals to nil.

Less than three minutes into the second half, Kasandra Anderson stole the ball from the CSUB defense and scored her sixth goal of the season to give the Wolverines a 3-0 advantage. Despite the three-goal deficit, the 'Runners did not give up hope.

In the 72nd minute, sophomore Maja Green sent a ball over the top to Whitney Strong. The redshirt junior slotted her pass into the box for redshirt freshman Aminah Settles. Already CSUB's leading goal scorer, Settles finished in the low corner past the UVU keeper for her ninth goal of the year.

The 'Runners earned a corner kick in the 86th minute and freshman Madi Giammona sent the ball into the box. Giammona found fellow freshman Kate McMullin who headed the ball to the near post for her first collegiate goal. McMullin's score cut the deficit to just one goal, but UVU held off the 'Runners in the final four minutes to preserve the win.

“Special credit must go to Madi Giammona, Haley Vicente, and Sabrina Delgado today,” Curneen said. “They grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and really drove the comeback.”

The two goals in Sunday's match was the most CSUB has scored against Utah Valley since the two programs' first-ever meeting in 2008 (CSUB won 3-1). The Wolverines have now won the last three matches against the 'Runners, but, each victory was by a one-goal margin as CSUB continues to draw closer to the WAC's top teams.

The Roadrunners (5-9-2, 3-3-1 WAC) return to Bakersfield next week for a pair of rematches against their opponents from this weekend. Seattle U will come to town for a match Friday night while Utah Valley will visit the Main Soccer Field Sunday morning.

~GoRunners.com~