Two first-half goals led Westmont Women's Soccer (7-6-2, 4-4 GSAC) to a 3-1 victory over Golden State Athletic Conference opponent Hope International (5-7-3, 0-5-3) on Saturday at Thorrington Field.
The Warriors opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute to take a 1-0 lead. Ashley Correa fired off a blast which bounced off one of the Royal players and came to Alison Hensley. Hensley buried the rebound in the lower right corner.
Four minutes later, however, Hope International's Shanell Thomas produced the equalizer when she headed in a cross from Kylie McCormick.
Westmont's winning goal was scored in the twenty-seventh minute. Correa passed the ball to Aolani Rueff who dribbled toward the keeper and scored from five yards out.
Jenny Martinez accounted for the final margin when she headed in a cross from Amanda Diesen in the sixty-third minute.
The win, combined with other games played today, puts the Warriors in a tie for fourth place in the GSAC standings with Point Loma Nazarene (5-4-5, 3-3-3).
At stake is a home game in the first round of the GSAC Tournament for the top four teams. The Tournament begins on Tuesday, November 2.
The Warriors and Sea Lions each have 12 points (three for a win, one for a tie). However, the Sea Lions have only one game left in the regular season in which to earn points while the Warriors have two. Point Loma will play Fresno Pacific next Saturday. Westmont takes on #4 The Master's (14-1-1, 7-1) in Santa Clarita on Tuesday before hosting Vanguard (8-5-3, 2-4-2) in Saturday's season finale.
Just ahead of the Warriors and Sea Lions is #10 California Baptist (10-4-1, 4-3-1). The Lancers, who have 13 points, will place San Diego Christian (4-8-3, 0-5-2) on Tuesday and #17 Concordia (8-4-3, 3-2-2).
The Eagles are one point behind Westmont and Point Loma with 11 points but have three more games to play. In addition to their match-up with California Baptist, Concordia will play Hope International on Tuesday and San Diego Christian on Friday. All three games will be played in Irvine.
The long and the short of the math is that since California Baptist and Concordia play each other, and since Point Loma Nazarene only has one game remaining, the Warriors can guarantee themselves a home game in the first round of the GSAC Tournament by winning out.
