By Ron Smith
October 26, 2024
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Soccer (6-7-2, 6-2) proved it is a force to be reckoned with in the PacWest. Just ask #23 Hawai'i Hilo (10-1-3, 7-1-1) who suffered its first loss of the season today, courtesy of a 3-1 Warrior victory.
 
"Every one of our lines played very well today," expressed Westmont's head coach Jenny Jaggard. "We are getting better every day and this team is so resilient and hungry. I have nothing but praise for every one of our players who took the field today."
 
The Vulcans put a bit of a scare into Warrior fans when they scored in the 11th minute. Teani Arakawa dribbled toward the goal on an angle from the left side. Just five yards from the goal, Arakawa fired off a shot with her right foot. Westmont goalkeeper Ellie Ludwig deflected the ball away from the goal with her left leg, but the ball rebounded to Filippa Graneld whose shot from 11 yards out found the back of the net.
 
If Warrior fans were concerned, they did not have to wait long to have that anxiety relieved. Just two minutes later the scoreboard read 1-1.
 
Shayna Stock dribbled down the middle of the field before passing off to Kennah Shaffer on the right flank. Shaffer took one touch and let the ball travel down the pitch. Then, just three yards from the right touch line and 22 yards from the end line, Shaffer planted her left foot and lofted a ball goalward with her right. The ball sailed over the keeper's head and just underneath the crossbar before sending ripples through the left-side netting.
 
In the 22nd minute, Ellie Gilbert entered the game for the Warriors. Less than a minute later, she was fouled from behind just above the 18-yard box as she was waiting for a pass along the ground from Sierra Martin. The whistle was blown and Westmont was awarded a free kick from 20 yards out.
 
Ande Siegel stepped up to take the free kick. Five Vulcans formed a line 10-feet away and goalkeeper Phoebe Barns guarded the inside post to her right. Siegel, however, sent her shot to the far post, giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the 23rd minute.
 
After the intermission, Westmont wasted no time extending their lead to 3-1. Stock received a pass near the midfield stripe and took two touches before sending it forward into the 18-yard box. Stock's pass bounced in front of Amarys Machado as she darted into the box. Machado chested the ball down, beat two defenders, then fired from the left side past the keeper and into the back of the netting. Only 35 seconds had expired since the second-half kick-off.
 
"The past two weeks, we have been focused on better technique for finishing," reported Jaggard, "and we have been taking tons of reps. We have put them under pressure, emphasizing finishing activity where things are not set up perfectly. Nothing ever feels perfect, so we are trying to get them comfortable ripping the ball in our training environment when it is not easy. The team is buying into it."
 
With today's win, Westmont is currently in third place in the PacWest standings with 18 points (three points for a win, one for a tie). Hilo continues to sit atop the standings but their margin has dropped significantly. With 22 points, they lead Point Loma (10-2-1, 7-1) by just one point and Westmont by four.
 
Concordia (9-1-2, 5-1-1), who suffered their first loss of the season today by falling to Azusa Pacific, is in fourth place with 16 points and the Cougars (9-3-1, 5-3) are in fifth place with 15 points. Chaminade (5-4-4, 4-2-2) has dropped to sixth place with 14 points.
 
At season's end, the top four finishers in the conference will earn a berth in the PacWest Championship. Westmont is guaranteed a berth in the conference tournament if they win their final three games.
 
Next Saturday, November 2, the Warriors will visit Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay where they will take on the Urban Knights of Academy of Art (0-11-1, 0-7).
 
The following week, Westmont returns to Thorrington Field for the final games of the regular season. On Thursday, November 7, the Warriors will host Hawai'i Pacific (3-6, 2-5). Then on Saturday, November 9, Westmont will conclude the regular season by taking on Dominican (6-8-1, 3-5).