Atherton, CA:
Fresh off their first win of the season, Menlo was looking to make it two straight in their 2011 California Pacific Conference opener against Simpson University. The Lady Oaks were able to control the tempo for most of the game and behind the performance of forward Steffany Dudley, Menlo kicked off their conference slate with a stellar 2-0 victory.
The freshman from Sandy, UT continued her recent roll with two more scores to bring her team leading total to seven, including five in the last two contests. With the score deadlocked at zero late in the first half, Dudley got things going with a 32nd minute goal on a beautiful threw ball from Kristina Roome to put the Oaks up 1-0. For Roome, the freshman mid-fielder from Sunnyvale, it was her first assist and point in her collegiate career.
Dudley's second goal came in the 65th minute with the assist going to senior Elizabeth Castaneda. For Castaneda, the forward from San Jose, it was her second assist and fourth point in the last two days.
Defensively, Menlo received key contributions from freshman Kayla Cisneroz, sophomore Valerie Comstock, and senior Mallory Todd who didn't allow the Redhawks any room to breathe in their dominant performance. Freshman goal keeper Arielle Peraza earned her second collegiate shutout after blanking Arizona Christian on Friday.
For Head Coach Scott Myers, he was upbeat about his girls' showing but still understands that there is room for improvement. "It feels very nice to get that first Cal Pac win, but I still think we can fix some things out there," claimed Myers. "I'm glad that the girls are doing what we ask of them and it's great to see our tough non-conference schedule begin to pay off."
The Lady Oaks, who now sit at 1-0 in the Cal Pac and 2-7 overall, will take their show on the road for their first road conference tilt as they travel to Rocklin this Tuesday (Sep. 27) with a matchup against the Warriors of William Jessup. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00pm.
