By Kaci Mexico

In the final regular season women's soccer game of the Golden State Athletic Conference, #8 Westmont defeated San Diego Christian by an astounding score of 9-0. With this win, the Warriors secured the title of co-champions of the GSAC conference, along with Biola.

There has only been one other time in Westmont Women's Soccer history that the Warriors have scored more than eight goals. The only other time was when they faced Dominican University in 2003 and scored 13 goals.

It took 15 minutes for the Warriors to score the first goal of the game – a goal that opened the floodgates to a goal scoring deluge. In the next nine minutes they scored three more goals.

To begin the scoring, senior Kaitlin Swift beat a defender down the right sideline and made a decisive cross to the head of sophomore Jackie Lopez. Lopez carefully placed the header into bottom right corner of the goal.

One minute later the Warriors scored off of another cross, this time, from the left sideline. The goal began when junior Brooke Lillywhite played a perfectly placed and weighted through ball to Lopez. Lopez crossed the ball on the ground to Steck near the middle of the goal box. Steck finished the cross and scored her first of five goals.

Goal number three came in the 21st minute and began with another well placed cross by Swift. Steck attempted to capitalize with a header, but it was blocked by goalkeeper Katherine Kourey of San Diego Christian. Steck followed her blocked shot and converted the deflection into a goal.

Swift, true to her last name, initiated the Warriors' fourth goal in the 25th minute when she sped past several defenders down the right sideline and deep into the goal box. She crossed the ball and once again, found the head of Steck who scored her third goal, giving her a hat trick within the first 25 minutes of the game.

In the second half the Warriors continued their offensive success and piled on five more goals.

The scoring frenzy continued when Lillywhite scored just three minutes into the second half off of a cross by Lopez to make the score 5-0.

Goal number six came in the 51st minute off of another cross by Lopez, only this time it was Steck who capitalized. This was Lopez's third assist and Steck's fourth goal of the game

The seventh goal of the game came in the 78th minute when freshman Hailey Parker advanced down the right sideline and crossed the ball to sophomore Grayce DeGroot who directed it into the bottom left corner with a slotted shot.

Three minutes later, sophomore Alanna Richards scored goal number eight with a powerful shot off of a goalkeeper deflection from eight yards out.

Steck scored her fifth goal in the next minute of the game in a resilient and unrelenting individual effort. Near the center of the goal box, she skillfully maneuvered past several defenders until she fired off a shot into the upper right side of the goal.

With this goal, Steck tied current teammate, Brooke Lillywhite's record for the most goals scored in a game. Additionally, with 19 goals on the season, Steck is currently tied in fifth place with Sandra Asimos for the most goals scored in a season (1986). Steck is also the leading goal scorer in the GSAC.

"I appreciate the ownership Kelsey has taken on this season to even be able to do something like what she did today," explained head coach Chantel Cappuccilli. "It is not that she is just scoring this amount of goals without the effort behind it. What she did today comes from a lot of hard work in practices and in doing work outside of training. To see her growth as a player and as a person is motivational even for myself and I think it is awe inspiring. I think it is wonderful that we are not done yet and also that she is not done. A lot of these Women are peaking at the right time and that is what you want from your players."

Cappuccilli continued to reflect on the team's success this season.

"I think we need to pay our due appropriately and give thanks to God first and foremost for the ability to even be in this position and have an opportunity to compete for a championship," stated Cappuccilli. "To be able to be GSAC champions and to do that in back-to-back seasons is not an easy feat. However, our players embraced it, rose to the occasion, and have played as one. They were one body today. Every single woman that could play was on the field and made an impact. When you have a team like that, the potential is limitless. I am very proud of them for what they have done so far this season."

Prior to the game, the team honored six graduating seniors (Angela Brown, Lauren Dorr, Kaitlynn Durham, Carling Richardson, Kelsey Steck, and Kaitlin Swift) and recognized them individually for all of their contributions to the Women's Soccer program over the past four years.

"I think proud is the word I would use to describe what it looks like for the seniors. Again, it is not easy coming into your senior to season having found the success they have in their prior three years. The expectation is to continue to do that and continue to have the same result, but that doesn't mean it is going to come easy. To see this senior class rise and be able to do that is beautiful and I am very proud of all six of them for that effort."

The Warriors have earned a bye in the first round of the GSAC Tournament and will travel to La Mirada on November 13 to play in the semifinal round against an opponent to be determined.

"This next week will be a great opportunity to recover for a little bit and then get back after it," noted Cappuccilli. "The focus now is on what is in front of us and that is the GSAC tournament. That is the new priority."