The pressure was on the San Bernardino Valley College defense from the opening whistle Friday afternoon, but one perfectly timed run helped the Wolverines knock off Norco College 1-0 in an Inland Empire Athletic Conference game.
The Mustangs came out pressing the SBVC defense deep into its own zone. Norco forced a pair of corner kicks in the second minute, and both ended with the ball bouncing dangerously through the SBVC penalty box. Norco earned five corner kicks in the first half and outshot the Wolverines 9-5 in the first 45, but the game went to the half tied at zero.
Norco continued the pressure, but the Wolverines began chipping away, looking for cracks in the defense. They finally found one in the 62nd minute.
Just across the midfield stripe, Marcela Gallo sent a diagonal ball through to the left wing, where Nayeli Sandoval was making a run. She got around the defense and put a shot into the far post past Norco goalkeeper Cynthia Silvestre and the game's only goal.
From there on, the Wolverines worked to control the ball as Norco threw everything at the SBVC end of the field. But the Wolverines' defense parried away all the chances, including a defensive save by Ferryn Koss on a ball sent back toward the goal after a ball was cleared by the defense. And goalkeeper Kerstin Lecon was there for the rest, making five saves to post the clean sheet.