Westmont College Athletics

By Ron Smith
September 15, 2018
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Soccer (7-0-1) renewed an old rivalry today and walked away with a 1-0 victory against Azusa Pacific (0-4) in the Warriors' final game of the non-conference season. Maddi Berthoud provided the winning goal for the tenth ranked Warriors with assists from Hailey Parker and Savannah Scott.
 
"We are a young side and it is exciting to see us end the preseason on a positive note with more players coming alive," said Westmont head coach Chantel Cappuccilli. "That is a mark that we are headed in a helpful trajectory towards conference play."
 
In the 23rd minute, Sydney Hess picked up an errant Cougar pass and passed it forward over the midfield line to Teagan Matye on the left-hand side. Matye drippled the ball back over the midfield line before passing off to Savannah Scott in the middle of the field.
 
Scott dribbled forward, crossing the midfield line again before sending the ball over the top. Haley Parker rushed toward the ball while Cougar goalkeeper Tatum French charged toward the ball from the goal. Parker reached the ball first as she crossed the 18-yard box and with a single touch, flicked it forward and to her right. Maddi Berthoud, racing down the middle of the field, redirected the ball into an empty net from five yards out. 
 
"Hailey continues to do tremendous work for us at the nine (position)," remarked Cappuccilli. "She was an asset in creating the goal for Maddi today. It was a great timed run from Maddi and a composed finished. I am extremely happy with how Haley has been carrying herself.
 
The Warriors and Cougars were scoreless in the second half, resulting in the Warriors fourth win in a row and the third save of the season for goalkeeper Gabi Haw.
 
"In the second half, our defensive shape got a lot better," assessed Cappuccilli. "That impacted the game and our ability to finish the preseason with a shutout.
 
"I thought today we had more unity and connectiveness over the course of 90 minutes and with that we saw a number of players step out of their shells and either continue the level of the game or raise the level of the game upon entry onto the field. Overall, we were more threatening at the end of our non-conference season. That is a good sign from the coaching staff's vantage point."
 
The Warriors will take next week off from competition before beginning Golden State Athletic Conference play on Thursday, September 27. Westmont will host William Jessup in a men's and women's soccer doubleheader with the men kicking off at 1:30 and the women's playing at 4:00 p.m.