IRVINE, CALIF. - After Columbia cut the lead to 2-1 in the first half, UC Riverside used three unanswered goals to defeat Columbia 5-1 in the final day of the UC Irvine Tournament. Senior Jana Whiting (CC-Halifax, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season for the lone tally for the Lions.
Kacie McElrath got UC Riverside (3-1-1) on the board in the 11th minute off a cross and struck again in the 19th minute on another cross into the box.
Down 2-0, the Lions (1-2-1) came back in the 33rd minute, when first-year CiCi Northup (CC-Lake Oswego, Ore.) found Whiting in the box and the senior forward rifled one past Riverside keeper Tawny Poggio to bring Columbia within a goal at 2-1. With the assist, Northup picked up her first collegiate point.
However, Riverside answered just four minutes later on Renee Scachetti's shot from 25 yards out to give Riverside a 3-1 edge heading into halftime.
Fourteen minutes into the second half, Riverside scored the first of its two goals in the half. Scachetti put home her second goal of the match at 59:04 off a rebound. Linda Allen finished the scoring in the 72nd minute, giving Riverside the 5-1 victory.
Sophomore keeper Allison Vespa (CC-Franklin Lakes, N.J.) stopped three shots and first-year Rebecca Taylor (CC-Lincoln, Mass.) made one save in the final 8:32 in her first collegiate appearance.
The Lions will return to action at home against Manhattan on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Game time at Columbia Soccer Stadium is 7 p.m.
