By Ron Smith
August 17, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) For Westmont Women's Soccer head coach Jenny Jaggard, part of the value of tonight's renewal of the crosstown exhibition rivalry between the Warrior and the Gauchos of UCSB was a chance to experiment.
 
"We are a really young team with 13 freshman," noted the first-year coach. "We are trying to figure out what clicks. We had a lot of different combinations in there today and I think we may have settled a little better who works well together. A lot of it was looking at chemistry and looking at tendencies in players and what works best for everybody.
 
The first half was played largely on the Warriors' end of the field. The Gauchos outshot the Warriors 11-1 with nine of UCSB's shot on goal. Gabi Haw tallied seven saves in the opening frame alone.
 
In the third minute, Shaelan Murison fired from the left side. Haw pushed the ball out toward the right side for her first save of the night. Murison would take seven first-half shots, six of them on goal including one that found the net.
 
In the 26th minute, Haw came out of the goal past the 18-yard box, but was unable to clear the ball. Murison tracked it down and placed it in an open net.
 
The Gauchos picked up their second goal in the 40th minute. Jessica Wright executed a scissor-kick, passing the ball to Angelica Ortega who finished the play from seven yards out.
 
"As usual, Gabi came up very solid and made some big saves for us early," noted Jaggard. "Unfortunately, they got some great chances. It would be hard for any goalkeeper to stop all of those.
 
"Gabi is a leader, helping organize our young ones. There were less shots in the second half, some of that is coming from Gabi organizing them in the back and stepping forward and getting pressure on the ball so the opponent does not have an opportunity to shoot.


"We figured out what was working for them and figured out a strategy that would force them to play something different and keep everything in front of us. That worked well for us today. I am pleased with my team's ability to change tactics."
 
The Gaucho's shot production was limited to five in the second half. Haw added two saves to tally a total of nine. While the Warriors' keeper prevented UCSB from scoring again, the offense began hitting its stride.
 
"The team was motivated and wanted to go get (a goal)," reported Jaggard. "I told them in the last ten minutes that we were down two and we might as well press and get numbers up."
 
Westmont fired off three shots in the final ten minutes. In the 81st minute, Maddi Berthoud got a shot off from the left corner at the top of the 18-yard box that went high. Six minutes later Isabel Berthoud fired off a shot from the right side of the top of the 18-yard box, but it was stopped by the keeper. Then with two and one-half minutes to play, Reese Davidson launched a shot that went wide left.
 
With the opportunity to experiment in an exhibition game complete, Westmont will return to countable games next Wednesday afternoon. The Warriors host the Mariners of Marymount at Thorrington Field at four o'clock.