By Ron Smith
November 29, 2022
(ORANGE BEACH, Ala.) If you could write the season script for Westmont Women's Soccer (16-1-3), their final season in the NAIA, the Warriors would have won their sixth national championship and concluded the 2022 season undefeated. Endings, however, are not determined by authors but by athletes on the field of competition.
 
The finale of this year's story was in the hoped for setting – the Orange Beach Sports Complex – but the timing was off, and the result was disappointing. In a battle with eighth-seeded Aquinas of Michigan (21-2-1), ninth-seeded Westmont lost 2-1 in the first game at the NAIA National Championship's final site.
 
"It's a painful one," said Westmont head coach Jenny Jaggard. "I feel badly for our seniors. They have done a good job leading this team. It's a big hole in my heart. I'm sad that this is the last day I get to coach them. I am proud of this team. We are a family. We win and we lose together. It is our first loss this season – it is really bitter."
 
Westmont scored in the 30th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Taylie Scott sent a ball forward to Amelia Villa at midfield. Villa touched the ball to her left to evade a defender, then dribbled 20 yards up the center of the field. Villa then passed the ball along the ground to the top of the 18-yard box where Katie DeMillo ran on it as Saint's keeper Kayla Shuk was charging toward the ball. DeMillo shot the ball over the sliding keeper and into the empty net for the goal.
 
"I think we were the better team in the first half," said Jaggard of her Warriors who outshot the Saints 4-1 in the first 45 minutes. "I think our decision making was a little off today. In that first half, we were dominating and should have buried two or three. In playoff games, you can't just squeak out a 1-0 lead at the half when you have that kind of rhythm. You need to bury it before they figure out how to adjust to you. Unfortunately, we didn't do that.
 
"Then Aquinas found a little bit of rhythm. They have some talented goal scorers up front. Their first finish was spectacular. There are some defensive things we could have done to make that hard, but that is how it goes some times."
 
Hannah Crum scored the equalizer for Aquinas in the 49th minute. The senior forward took a left-footed shot from just inside the left-hand corner of the 18-yard box. The ball crossed in front of the goal, hit the far post, and bounced into the goal.
 
The game winner came in the 81st minute. Maeva Lichtenstieger crossed a ball into the six-yard box from the right corner. Laia Cunill headed the ball forward to Macy Hollingsworth who shot into the upper right-hand corner from five yards out.
 
"We didn't follow our game plan as well as we should have, today," acknowledged Jaggard, "but I am proud of our team because they never stopped. I am always proud of a team if we show that we are one of the hardest working, fittest, united teams in the country. I think we did that. We didn't go all the way this year, but we are unified. There was no one playing the blame game. We stayed unified today."
 
The Warriors end the 2022 season having outscored their opponents 56-13, led by Reese Davidson with 18 goals. Westmont outshot opponents 470-140, including 207-60 on goal. Westmont recorded shutouts in half of their games and goalkeeper Kailey Meyer posted a season goals-against average of 0.60.