It was a banner week for women’s sports in San Diego. Point Loma Nazarene soccer captured the PacWest title in dramatic fashion, netting a golden goal in double overtime while their volleyball team had its own thrilling win and captured a share of the regular-season championship.

Over at SDSU, Aztecs basketball has been unstoppable, winning the last three games by an average margin of 37 points. And while USD volleyball’s 14-match streak might suggest smooth sailing, their latest victory came in a gritty five-set battle that showcased their resilience as much as their talent. Across the city, San Diego’s women’s teams are proving they can win with both flair and fight.

Wondering what a Golden Goal is? You’re in luck. It’s today’s Timeout Term.

Point Loma Nazarene Soccer won back-to-back titles, defeating Dominican on Saturday in double overtime, 2-1, to earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Regional. Kylee Jerome scored her first career collegiate goal in the first half, while Maddy Saruwatari scored a “golden goal” (see Today’s Timeout Term) at the near post off of a Kylie Garcia corner kick in the second overtime, in the 108th minute.

PLNU volleyball became PacWest co-champions of the regular season with a big win over No. 9 Fresno Pacific on Senior Day, 27-29, 27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-13. The Sea Lions needed the win to clinch a share of the conference crown with the Sunbirds, and they did it in thrilling fashion. Point Loma came back from an 8-10 deficit in the fifth set to snatch the set and match.

SDSU is flexing its muscle with three straight wins by an average of 37 points. They defeated CSU Bakersfield 78-48 on Saturday and CSU Northridge on Thursday, 90-71. Senior transfer Nala Williams is making her mark on both ends of the floor, leading the team in average points (16.5), steals (2.5), and assists (3.8).

USD (21-4, 14-0 WCC) continues to find ways to win, this time in a five setter against Portland, 24-26, 25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 15-10. The never-say-die Toreros have now won 14 straight and are 9-2 in five-set matches. Isabel Clark had a match-high 19 kills to go along with seven digs, five blocks (one solo), and three service aces.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At the NCAA West Regional Championships on Saturday, UCSD’s women finished 13th, improving from last year’s 16th place. Big West champion Sylvana Northrop led the Tritons, running 20:16.6 to place 23rd in the women’s 6k from among more than 200 runners.

SDSU and USD also competed, finishing 18th and 35th, respectively.

SDSU volleyball lost to Colorado State in four sets, then lost to Wyoming in three on Saturday.

UCSD (6-12, 4-12 Big West) lost in four sets on both Friday and Saturday, to UC Riverside (8-18, 4-12 Big West) and UC Davis (18-6, 14-2 Big West).

USD basketball lost to undefeated Arizona State, 79-47.

UCSD (1-3) lost on Wednesday to Sacramento State (4-1), 71-60, and on Saturday to San Francisco (2-2), 80-69.

🟡⚽ Golden Goal: First, a little background. During the NCAA regular season, soccer games end after 90 minutes of regulation play, whether or not teams are tied. However, during the post-season, one team must advance, and so if teams are tied after regulation, they play a maximum of two 10-minute overtime periods.

During overtime, the game ends when a team scores a goal. That game-winning goal is called the golden goal (in other sports, the score-wins-and-ends-the-game rule is called Sudden Death). The golden-goal rule was in effect until 2022, then in 2024, the golden goal was re-instated (see PostSeason Overtime Rule 7.2.1).

Here is the rationale for reinstating the Golden Goal: In previous seasons, there were very few instances of the team being scored on first in overtime coming back to win the game. Therefore, requiring teams to play more minutes with few instances of a different result, especially with the potential for the advancing team to play another game the following day, is not in the best interest of the student-athlete. Source: NCAA 2024 and 2025 Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Changes

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