By Ron Smith
August 21, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Brooke Porter netted two of Westmont's goals as the women's soccer team improved its record to 1-1 with a 5-0 shutout of the Mariners of Marymount (0-1) on Wednesday afternoon at Russ Carr Field.
 
The Warriors controlled possession throughout the contest, outshooting the Mariners 27-6. The game was practically a clinic on crossing the ball from the wing and finding ways to score.
 
"Every game is different in terms of what your opponent is doing," noted Westmont head coach Jenny Jaggard, who picked up her first win as a collegiate head coach. "They were definitely giving us the flanks today, so it became a crossing and finishing exercise for us. We got a lot of reps on that.
 
"We are starting to get confidence and trust each other more," continued the coach. "That has been part of our breakdown with possession. We give it away to early because we don't trust that the person checking is going to be able to hold the ball, so we just boot it long. We are finally getting confident enough to trust what we see and play it quickly."
 
Westmont's first goal came in the 38th minute of the game. Chase Sprink forwarded the ball to Katie Stella in the right corner. Stella passed the ball back to Sprink who had made her way to the top of the 18-yard box. Sprink sent a one-touch pass to Maddi Berthoud who was nine yards in front of the goal. With one touch, Berthoud lofted the ball over a defender and the keeper. The ball hit the crossbar on the way down, then bounced before spinning into the far side netting.
 
"Maddi is super dangerous," assessed Jaggard. "She is one of those players that you need in the game to expose defenders and create opportunities for teammates."
 
Two minutes later, the Warriors scored again. Eliya Lowe cleared a ball from the Warriors' defensive third, sending it forward to Sprink. Sprink found Berthoud at midfield, who, in turn, sent a ball past the Mariners' defenders. Katie Stella tracked down the ball then beat one defender about 15 feet from goal. She lofted the ball over the head of the keeper who was rushing forward to retrieve it. The ball dropped underneath the crossbar to give the Warriors a 2-0 halftime lead.
 
The second half picked up where the first half finished.
 
In the 50th minute, freshman forward Grace Duckens sent a ball into the left-side corner that Berthoud tracked down. After beating a defender, Berthoud arced a pass to 15-yards in front of the center of the goal. Brooke Porter took two steps toward the ball, lowered her head and knocked a line drive toward the left-hand post. The ball bounded on the ground just ahead of the goal line and into the back corner of the net.
 
Porter, who sat out her first three seasons with injury, is making the most of her senior year. After scoring the Warriors lone goal in their first outing against Southern Oregon, she doubled her output in today's game.
 
"Brooke is having a fairytale senior year," said Jaggard. "It has been awesome to see her get her first collegiate goals under her belt and to just dominate. She is tremendously good in the air. There are a few of us that are confident in crossing and finishing with your head and she is one of them. I love her grit and determination, it goes with her whole story."
 
Westmont extended its lead to 4-0 with a goal in the 53rd minute by sophomore Maddy Cuculich. Grace Duckens earned a corner kick for the Warriors after her cross from the left corner was headed out by a Mariner's defender. Savannah Scott sent the corner kick four feet in front of the goal where Cuculich leapt and headed the ball into the back of the net.
 
Westmont's final goal came in the 55th minute. Duckens intercepted a defenders errant pass and drove toward the end line on the left-hand side of the goal. Even with the 6-yard box, Duckens fired across the box where the ball encountered Porter charging hard toward the goal. The senior scored with a left-footed rocket that was buried in the back of the net without breaking stride.
 
"It was a team effort," offered Jaggard. "Our outside backs were getting up and contributing more. Both Kira Nemitz and Sydney Hess had some good balls in the back those last few minutes. We are starting to get some organization in the middle. We are starting to see some shape from our attacking midfielders."
 
Jaggard was also impressed with the play of junior Bri Johnson.
 
"Bri is a powerful player that is good at beating people on the flank," explained Jaggard. "She is good on the dribble and sent in some good balls that we should have finished but didn't."
 
The Warriors will continue their season on Friday when they travel to Thousand Oaks to take on the Regals of California Lutheran. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.