By Ron Smith
October 14, 2023
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) After falling behind 2-0 in the first half to the Cougars of Azusa Pacific (5-4-3, 2-1-1 PacWest), Westmont Women's Soccer (4-1-4, 2-0-1) rallied in the second half and scored two goals of their own to claim a 2-2 tie in today's PacWest game.
 
Azusa Pacific scored in just the 12th minute when Bethany Tee passed a ball to Nora Oldmark who then passed it over to Avery Guiel. Guiel, in turn delivered the ball in the net.
 
In the 30th minute, Azusa stretched their advantage to two with a goal by Aubrey Dunaway who was assisted by Angela Cipriano and Rilee Bradbury.
 
"It was a tale of two halves," said Westmont's head coach Jenny Jaggard. "I am not sure why we were so disorganized defensively in the first half. There were definitely some things that weren't executed properly. They are really talented up front and when you give them a chance to shoot, they are deadly. I was disappointed with the performance in terms of our tactical decisions defensively that first half.
 
"We made some adjustments in the second half and started to take it to them and get some quality opportunities on goal. I would describe this game as a gritty game in which we fought tooth and nail to get back into it. In a 2-0 game, there are a lot of psychological pieces. I think Azusa, for a while, thought they could park the bus in front of us and maintain the 2-0 lead. When we got the first goal, the psychology of the game really changed. That definitely fired the team up and I was excited for them for how hard they worked."
 
Grace Duckens, who had played just 36 minutes this season prior to today's game, recorded her second goal of the year in the 63rd minute to reduce the deficit to one.
 
"It was an exciting goal for Grace Duckens, getting back after being so long with injuries," explained Jaggard. "She is picking up where she left off. The last game she was able to play significant minutes was the (season opener) Cal Poly Pomona game. She scored in that game and we pulled her off because she wasn't feeling great. I am excited to have her back on the field."
 
Villa had the ball on the left side of the box, then passed it off to Duckens who had worked her way from the left side to the center. Duckens needed just one touch to fire with her right foot from the top of the six-yard box and place the ball in the right hand crease.
 
The equalizer did not come until the 87th minute of play. Amelia Villa, playing 35 yards from goal in the center of the field, saw Shayna Stock dashing down the right side. Villa led Stock with a pass in the direction of the right corner. Stock ran it down about 10 yards from the end line and used her right foot to pass the ball in the air across the front of the goal.
 
At the same time, Amarys Machado timed her run toward the left post and as the ball arrived, she headed it into the left corner.
 
"Amarys got her goal today by grinding, getting into the box and creating some chances," affirmed Jaggard.
 
"I am proud of the team for fighting to the very end. It would be easy to give up after going down 2-0. We definitely didn't. We proved we could fight and find a way to come back. There are a lot of mentality pieces there that I am really proud of."
 
As a result of today's stalemate, Azusa Pacific and Westmont find themselves tied for fourth place in the PacWest standings with seven points apiece (three points for a win, one for a tie). The Warriors and Cougars are five points back of Hawai'i Hilo and Concordia, who are both 4-0 in conference play and have 12 points. Chaminade is in third place with a conference park of 3-0-1 and 10 points. Next week, the Warriors will have a chance to take on two of the three teams ahead of them.
 
"We are excited for the road trip to Hawaii," expressed Jaggard. "It is going to be a very challenging week ahead. Coming out of the gate we are playing Hawai'i Hilo who was just named number five in the rankings in Division II. I like the fighting mentality that we have. I think that is a piece that we will need against Hilo."
 
The Warriors and Vulcans will match up on Thursday. Then on Saturday, Westmont will pair off with Chaminade. Before departing for home, Westmont will play against Hawai'i Paci