By Ron Smith
October 18, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Two goals in the second half gave Westmont Women's Soccer (3-8, 3-2 PacWest) a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory over the Eagles of Biola (3-2-8, 0-1-5) on Saturday afternoon at Thorrington Field.
 
"What a fun, fun game to come out with the win," said Westmont's head coach Lauren Matthias, "especially on Homecoming Weekend. We had a lot of our women's soccer alumni join us for coffee and breakfast with the players before the game, for our pregame devotional, and for the pregame talk. They sat in on some of our traditions we do before the game. It was such a sweet moment to marry the past with the present. That set the table for the day."
 
The scoring started with Biola in the 24th minute of play. From 30-yards out in the middle of the pitch, Cassidy Sims won the ball, then tapped it forward and to the right. Riley Brumfield ran on the ball just inside the 18-yard box and fired with her right foot into the netting on the left side.
 
"I think we struggled a little bit in the first half to connect some passes," assessed Matthias. "Biola - credit to them - did a good job in the first half. They had one chance and they put it away. They also did a good job of sitting in spaces and making it hard to connect passes in the first half, so that was a little frustrating."
 
After some halftime adjustments, The Warriors returned to the pitch and began to take control.
 
In the 62nd minute, Madison Ford tied the game at one goal each off a set piece. Sydney Reese took a corner kick from the left side and sent it in front of the goal. Biola goalkeeper Autum Monty, punched the ball out in front of the goal. Though the ball only traveled about 10 yards, no one from either team was in the top of the box to collect it.  
 
Madison Ford raced toward the ball, planted with her right foot, pivoted on it and used her left foot to loft the ball back toward the goal. The ball cleared all heads and sailed just inside the right-hand upright for the score.
 
"Madison was gritty in the box and was relentless," noted Matthias. I'm really proud of our team for, again, getting something out of a corner kick situation."
 
Coming into the match, Biola had played five previous conference games, all of which ended in a 1-1 tie. The thought of Saturday's game becoming the sixth in a row for the Eagles with a 1-1 score did not escape anyone's notice. However, Amelia Villa did not let that happen.
 
In the 85th minute, Makenna Meyers had the ball on the right flank, just past midfield. She saw Villa in the center of the pitch, 35 yards from goal. Meyer's pass was settled by Villa with her right foot. She dribbled forward to the top of the penalty arc, then took aim with her right foot, driving the ball inside the left upright.
 
"I couldn't have asked for anyone else to be put in that position," declared Matthias. "I'm really excited and proud of her. I think she's been knocking at the door every game. We did a lot of finishing this week with our forwards. It was really sweet to see Amelia stay calm on the ball, pick her spot and convert. That is exactly what we worked on this week. There's no one more deserving to have that moment and it was really fun to celebrate.
 
"It was a full-team win at the end of the day. It took everyone. We gave Ruby Stimer her first start of the season and I thought she did well. Lauren Schwartz got on the field for the first time this year and she got up at forward in some high-pressure moments and stayed really calm, which is what she does. She kept the ball and we had really good defending from her.
 
"There are still some areas we need to be sharper in the details and some transitional moments, defensively, that we need to continue to work on. We also need to continue to minimize our own errors. The goal is to get better each day, each game.
 
"We talked a lot, today, about leaning into the hard. We, again, were put in a hard situation and I'm immensely proud of our group for leaning into the hard, not feeling sorry for ourselves, and for digging out of it. What a fun one to win on homecoming in a home game with a lot of alumni.
 
"Our word for the game was legacy. I talked about how, even with the course of this season, this group is still building toward weaving a legacy. Part of that legacy is showing resilience to not back down. We still have a lot to fight for and we are keeping that belief and hope alive. I think you saw that today in the way it played out. Being able to get it done in hard moments is the kind of legacy we are talking about.
 
"It was a nice way to end the day before we get on the road next week to Hawaii. I am really proud of the group."
 
While in Honolulu, the Warriors will play against Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday, October 23 and then at Chaminade on Saturday, October 25.