By Ron Smith
November 8, 2023
 
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) It was not a pleasant day in San Diego for Westmont Women's Soccer (7-3-5, 5-2-2 PacWest). The Warriors suffered a 4-0 loss to #13 Point Loma Nazarene (11-3-1, 7-2), who now sits atop the PacWest standings.
 
Westmont gave up a pair of goals in the first 17 minutes and never was able to recover.
 
"We knew we would have a really tough time scoring against Point Loma's back line today, so we decided to try to press them very aggressively in a different defensive shape than usual to see if we could capitalize on transitional moments," reported Westmont's head coach Jenny Jaggard after the game. "The press worked early because they couldn't quickly problem solve it.
 
"Unfortunately, we missed the early chances we created, which really could have changed the game for us. We also made a couple big defensive errors that caused us to go down two goals. This is the only game this season where we have walked in determined to win or else and put our defensive conservatism aside to try to get an early lead.
 
"I wanted to play it like we were in playoffs and it was a win or go home situation. It cost us today because we really struggled to finish chances and we opened ourselves up to vulnerabilities defensively against a good team and they capitalized."
 
The Warriors, who were outshot 21-5, struggled to find any offensive rhythm.
 
"(Center back) Taylie Scott and (goalkeeper) Maya Pablos both had really good performances today in spite of the score line," emphasized Jaggard. "Point Loma is a really good team that has been gaining momentum the last few games as they prepare for playoffs."
 
With one game remaining in the regular season, Westmont is tied with Chaminade (7-4-4, 5-2-2) for first place in the PacWest standings. Both teams have 17 points and are one point behind fourth place Azusa Pacific (8-4-5, 5-1-3). Hawai'i Hilo (10-2-2) stands in third place with 19 points and Concordia (11-2-2, 6-1-2) is in second with 20. Point Loma leads with 21 points.
 
The Warriors' final game of the regular season will be played on Saturday at Thorrington Field against Concordia. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
 
"We are hoping to recover and bounce back for a challenging match against Concordia," said Jaggard.