By Ron Smith
November 7, 2024
 
(SANTA BARBRA, Calif.) "We are going to the tournament!" Those were the words of Jenny Jaggard, head coach of Westmont Women's Soccer (8-7-2, 8-2) following Thursday's 4-0 victory over Hawai'i Pacific (3-7-2, 2-6-2). The win clinched a berth in next week's PacWest Championship that will be held at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine.
 
"We are building momentum with our ability to be very dangerous in the final third," assessed Jaggard. "I feel like we scored four quality goals today."
 
Westmont broke the game open in the 18th minute scoring not just one, but two goals.
 
First, Ainsley Martin picked up a loose ball at the right edge of the 18-yard box that had been last headed by an opposing player. Martin settled the ball, then used her right foot to fire a bullet into the far right corner of the goal. It was her second goal of the year.
 
Just 40 seconds later, Westmont scored again to gain a 2-0 lead. From the middle of the pitch, Amelia Villa sent the ball wide to Kennah Shaffer on the right side. Shaffer dribbled down the right side of the 18-yard box before sending a low line drive across the face of the goal. Amarys Machado one-touched the ball out of the air into the net, picking up her fifth goal of the season.
 
In the 59th minute, the Warriors added to their lead with a goal from Sierra Martin. After the ball was sent out to the left by a defender, Ainsley Martin retrieved it near the touch line and sent it to her twin sister who was just inside the top of the penalty area. Sierra twirled around and fired off a dart headed for the right side of the goal, recording her fourth of the season. The Shark's goalkeeper got a hand on it, but could not keep it from finding the upper right corner.
 
Westmont completed the scoring in the 62nd minute after Alyssa Zahiralis lofted a ball to the left side where Ainsley Martin was waiting. Martin, one-on-one with a defender, dribbled to the top of the 18 before passing off to Machado. Machado pivoted to her right and hit a line drive into the left-hand crease to produce the brace and her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Martin tallied her second assist of the day to complement her earlier goal.
 
As a result of today's action, Westmont stands in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings with 24 points (three points for a tie, one for a win). #25 Azusa Pacific (12-3-1, 8-3), who has completed conference play, also has 24 points. However, the Warriors hold the tiebreaker due to a 3-2 win over the Cougars on October 3.
 
Westmont is one point behind both #22 Hawai'i Hilo (11-1-3, 8-1-1) and #10 Concordia (12-1-2, 8-1-1), who are tied for second place. #20 Point Loma (12-2-1, 9-1) sits atop the conference with 27 points.
 
All four teams will be in action on Saturday and the results of those games will determine the seeding for the upcoming PacWest Tournament. The Warriors can finish as high as the second seed if Concordia or Hilo should tie or lose their games and Westmont wins. Concordia will host Hawai'i Pacific and Hilo will host Chaminade (6-4-5, 5-2-3).
 
The Warriors will host the Penguins of Dominican (7-9-1, 4-6) as part of a men's and women's doubleheader at Thorrington Field. Both Westmont teams will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday before their respective games. The men's game kicks off at 11:00 a.m. with the women scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.
 
The PacWest Tournament will begin with semifinal action on Thursday, November 14. Westmont's seeding, opponent and kick-off time are to be determined by the final conference standings. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, November 16 at 5:00 p.m.