SEASIDE – Tamra James finished a late, second-half penalty kick to give the Lumberjacks the break they've been waiting for all season as Humboldt State beat Cal State Monterey Bay 1-0 Sunday afternoon. The win marks the first California Collegiate Athletic Association victory of the 2011 campaign for the Jacks and the first win since the opening game of the season.

Humboldt State improves to 2-9-2 overall, 1-9-2 in CCAA, while the Otters drop to 2-11-0, 1-11-0 in conference. 

From the moment the whistle blew in the beginning, Humboldt State was ready to battle and was hungry for a win.

"As a group of 11 players, defensively we were solid—winning every service, every tackle, every knock down, and reading the play and just being aggressive," said head coach C.J. Johnson. "I think that type of play really carried us offensively and never allowed CSUMB to get into any rhythm offensively."

The Lumberjack defense—comprised of Karen Pontoni, Allie Swanson, Megan Kendall, Carly Kolpin and Sawyer Gordon, along with goalkeeper Amber Woolcock—only allowed two Otter shots in the first 30 minutes.

Offensively, the Jacks had a number of opportunities themselves. Once again, though, Humboldt State could not seem to find the back of the net, sending shots just high or just wide. Maddie Null gave HSU a good look at going up 1-0 heading into halftime in the 38th minute, but Kendra Gillio was there to make the save for CSUMB.

Woolcock—grabbing her first shutout of the season—came up twice in the last five minutes of the first half to prevent CSUMB from finding the back of the net.

HSU continued to fire shots at the Otter defense in the second half, but still sent shots high and wide of the goal. Bre Taylor gave the Jacks a chance at turning that around, but Gillio was there once again to keep the ball out of the net.

"Late in the game I was thinking to myself, 'We still cannot buy a goal!'" said Johnson. "We had so many opportunities and breakaways where we just pushed it a little too wide or put too much on it to send it over the crossbar. Their keeper also made some excellent saves."

In the 75th minute, the Jacks found their break when James took off on a breakaway. Only needing to beat Gillio to put the Jacks up 1-0, James pushed the ball past the goalkeeper, but Gillio came out and took James down, resulting in a yellow card and a penalty kick for Humboldt State. James finished the penalty kick attempt cleanly into the net to give the Jacks a one-point lead with 15 minutes left in the contest.

CSUMB tried to find an equalizer, but the Humboldt State defense was determined to preserve its shutout and victory.

"I'm just so happy for the girls," said Johnson. "Even though it's not a goal in the run of play, we'll take it. A lot of things are finally starting to click for us."

The Jacks continue on the road next weekend, this time on their longest road trip of the season. HSU will travel to UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino before finishing the season at home.