PHOENIX-- The CSU Bakersfield women's soccer team fought through a hard battle with Western Athletic Conference foe Grand Canyon on Halloween night. The two teams closed the regular season with a scoreless draw at the GCU Soccer Field while redshirt senior Tori Ornela earned her third shutout of the season.

“The girls were nothing short of phenomenal tonight against a very good Grand Canyon team,” said Gary Curneen, Head Coach for Bakersfield. “I thought we were terrific in possession and created enough chances to take the win. Special mentions must go out to Kate McMullin, Sabrina Delgado, and Tori Ornela. This performance is a great platform to enter playoffs on Thursday.”

The Roadrunners and Antelopes played to a scoreless tie through regulation. The first and second halves were well matched with both squads applying pressure and creating chances. Grand Canyon had a couple close chances late in regulation. Ornela, a redshirt senior from Lemoore, Calif., came up big with saves to keep the match tied. Regulation drew to a close with a 12-12 tie in shots while CSUB created seven corner kicks to GCU's two.

The 'Lopes made a crucial mistake late in regulation as one of their top players, Milla Benedetti, earned a straight red card with just under three minutes before overtime. GCU was forced to play a woman down through overtime.

The match remained physical as the 'Runners picked up a pair of yellow cards in the first overtime period. Alexa Orrante was shown yellow in the 97th minute and Taylor Wheeler got into a tussle 90 seconds later.

A cold night in Phoenix resulted in tired players and neither side was able to create a game-winning goal in either overtime. The match came to an end in a scoreless draw with CSUB outshooting Grand Canyon 14-13. Ornela made six saves on the night while seven field players lasted all 110 minutes for the 'Runners, showing great conditioning.

Saturday night's match was the end of the regular season and the Roadrunners (5-11-3, 3-5-2 WAC) will return to Bakersfield next week as CSUB hosts the WAC Tournament Nov. 5-6, 8. No. 5 CSUB will play its first match against No. 4 NM State Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Main Soccer Field. For information on tickets to see the tournament, visit the CSUB ticketing page.

~GoRunners.com~