ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Jessup women's soccer team opened its 2026 season at Warrior Field against San Francisco State on Thursday and fought to a 1-1 draw.
"We're proud of them," Warriors coach
Amsalu Fantahun said. "In the first half, our forwards were not feeling it, so just coming back like this and scoring one goal, it's not easy. We are so proud of them and will just keep working on it as we have another game on Saturday."
The Gators got out in front early as Kiralyn Kuramoto curled one into the bottom corner from over 25 yards out in the 13th minute. Jessup had an opportunity to respond a few moments later as it seemed they would have a penalty kick, but it was waved off shortly after for offsides. Staying onside was an issue for the Warriors in the first half as they were called off on four occasions.Â
"The reason why they're getting offside that often is because our midfields or our centerbacks are holding the ball a lot," Fantahun said. "In the second half, we told them that it needs to be quicker. Of course, if they see the ball isn't coming early, the forwards also need to adjust and hold their line. This will be a good learning moment for us and we'll go back, evaluate videos, and go from there."
Jessup didn't have a single shot for the first 27 minutes of the second half, but began to apply pressure down the stretch. Senior forward
Michaela Romo scored the Warriors' first goal of the season in the 79th minute as she dribbled it past the Gators goalkeeper, slotting it home in the bottom corner to level the score.
"It was a great moment," Fantahun said. "We have a lot of new players and we saw how they can play. Now we just need to recover and just go again and play."
San Francisco State totaled six shots in the contest with two on goal compared to four shots for Jessup with two on frame. Romo had three of Jessup's four shots in the contest, the other coming from a shot on target by
Gracyn Wilkinson. The lone caution came in the 86th minute as Gators freshman Miranda Medina was issued a yellow card.Â
The Warriors will now prepare for their next match which takes place on Saturday back at home against Seattle Pacific University. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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About Jessup University Athletics Jessup University is a member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
