By Ron Smith
October 28, 2017
 
(SANTA CLARITA, Calif.) Down 2-0 with just less than 30 minutes to play, #9 Westmont Women's Soccer (13-3-1, 10-0 GSAC) rallied to defeat #14 The Master's (13-4-1 6-3-1) by a 3-2 score in overtime. With the win, Westmont clinched second place in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings and earned a bye in the first round of the upcoming GSAC Tournament.
 
"The first half was sloppy and we needed to be sharper and tighter defensively," said Westmont head coach Chantel Cappuccilli, "especially against a system that allows several numbers to build in the attack. We were caught a few times. Thankfully, at halftime, we had a moment to regroup and sort through some tactical adjustments and defensive expectations."
 
In the 18th minute of the game, Hailey Gomillion scored from 10 yards out assisted by Lynnae George and Jasmine Parada. The game remained 1-0 until the 61st minute when Parada scored from outside the box, assisted by Kellian Ahearn.
 
"Another goal coming early in the second half put us in a challenging position," acknowledged Cappuccilli, "Here we were at Masters, on Senior Day, down 2-0. Yet, 2-0 is never a comfortable score line in the game of soccer. We never stopped pushing, and we didn't check out mentality, which I'm proud of."
 
The Warrior's finally made their mark on the scoreboard in the 61st minute, courtesy of Maddi Berthoud's 10th goal of the season. Haylee Lopes crossed a ball into the box which that Berthoud's put away.
 
"Maddi scored a scrappy goal that was needed to propel us through the rest of the match." said Cappuccilli.
 
With precisely four minutes remaining on the second-half clock, Bri Johnson scored the equalizer. Johnson scored from the right side of the box after receiving a ball from Destinee Adams.
 
"Bri scoring with only a hand full of minutes shifted the momentum," said Cappuccilli. "That was a big moment."
 
In the 99th minute, Johnson would provide an even larger moment.
                                                      
"In overtime, the players put their heads down and went to work," reported Cappuccilli ". As soon as I saw Bri turn her defender, I knew she'd get the shot off. It was hit with such pace, it was only a matter of seconds before we could celebrate."
 
Johnson recorded her 10th goal of the season, shooting from the far-left side. Lopes received an assist on the game-winner.
 
The game brings an end to the regular season. Fifth-ranked Vanguard (14-3, 10-0) claims the regular season championship along with a first-round bye. The Master's finished in third place and will host Arizona Christian (8-8-2, 3-5-2) in the GSAC quarterfinals on Friday, November 3. The Firestorm are the number six seed. Menlo (11-4-3, 5-3-2) claimed the fourth seed and will host fifth-seeded Hope International (8-7-3, 4-4-2).
 
The semifinals and the championship game will be hosted by Vanguard on Wednesday, November 8 and Friday, November 10, respectively. In the semifinals, Vanguard will play the lowest remaining seed and Westmont will take on the other quarterfinal winner. Westmont's game is scheduled to kick off at 11:00 a.m.