By
Rob Goodrow
August 31, 2019
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Four different Warriors scored goals on Saturday as the Westmont women's soccer team defeated the Battlin' Bears of Rocky Mountain 4-0 to improve their season record to 3-1.
"Give credit to the back line, they're the first line in the attack," said Westmont head coach
Jenny Jaggard. "We're starting to get all of our units linked together – backline, midfield, forward line – we're recognizing some patterns together, and that led to success in the final third of the field today."
The Warrior attack resulted in outshooting Rocky Mountain 23-6 with a 14-6 shots on goal advantage.
"We found some combinations in the middle today - we got shots at the top of the box, not something that was happening in the beginning of the season," noted Jaggard. "I'm excited about the chemistry, our play is becoming more cohesive."
Maddi Berthoud found the net in the 24th minute off a rebound for the first of three goals in the opening half. The other Berthoud sister,
Isabelle, knocked in the second goal off a well-placed pass for an assist by
Valerie Swisher. Less than two minutes later
Kira Nemeth made it 3-0 for the Warriors.
"That assist by Val to Izzy was spot-on," said Jaggard. "Izzy waited patiently and put herself into a good position to finish. Then Teagan Mayte played an absolutely perfect ball into Kira."
The final strike by the Warriors was the result of a fortuitous bounce off the head of a defender that landed at the feet of Westmont's
Bri Johnson. Johnson then placed a quick cross in front of the goal for teammate
Grace Duckens to drive into the back of the net.
In addition to the impressive scoring output by the Warriors Saturday, the defense held their opponent scoreless for the third consecutive game.
"Savanah Scott played the six (position) for 90 minutes, she never stops working. She's defending, she's attacking – sometimes the six doesn't get a lot of credit but she puts in so much work," complimented Jaggard."
Sydney Hess did a great job playing right back for us filling in for
Eliya Lowe, she sent a couple of great dangerous balls in and made good decisions."
"I'm feeling really good that we have dynamic players all over the field."
Westmont has a brief respite before hosting #21 ranked Kansas Wesleyan on Labor Day, Monday, September 2 at 4:00 p.m.
