By Ron Smith
October 2, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Soccer (0-7, 0-1 PacWest) battled with the Golden Eagles of Concordia (6-1-1, 1-0) on Thursday afternoon at Thorrington Field in the PacWest opener for both teams, but fell a goal short in a 1-0 loss. It was the Warriors' sixth one-goal loss this season.
 
"I told the players I was really proud of them, regardless of what the scoreboard said," said Westmont's head coach Lauren Matthias. "We executed and controlled what we could control and we executed the game plan to a tee.
 
"Our plan was to pin them in and not let them out and high press. I thought in the first half we brought that fight and physicality we have been missing. It is a new standard for us to come out like that every game. We can do that well."
 
The two teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half. Then just 30 seconds into the second half, Westmont was whistled for a red card. Concordia's Bella Barrett had a breakaway and was headed to goal when a collision occurred that prevented her from scoring.
 
"It was unfortunate to play the whole second half a man down," said Matthias. "We talk a lot about being adaptable and flexible. Even though we were a man down and conceded a goal, I think we held our own in the second half. If you had walked up to the game in the second half and didn't count the numbers on the field, I think you would have thought we were holding our own. Obviously, some of the game plan goes out the window when you go down a player and don't have as many people in the front line that we want."
 
Less the four minutes later, Concordia used their advantage to score the game's lone goal. Hailey Havican gathered a loose ball on the left-hand side, dribbled into the box, the fired with her left foot, putting the ball in the right side netting.
 
"I told them I was really proud of the fight and the effort," emphasized Matthias. "That is something you can control. We talked a lot this week about winning the day, winning the battles, winning the play. I felt that in a lot of the moments our players did that.
 
"We are still struggling to finish. In the first half, we were leading in shots and corners, so we were generating opportunities. We just need to get the ball in the net."
 
Westmont recorded 11 shots during the game, including eight in the first half. Six of the 11 were on goal.
 
The Warriors will play their next three games on the road. On Thursday, October 9, Westmont will take on the Oaks of Menlo in Atherton. The following Saturday, the Warriors will be at Fresno Pacific to face the Sunbirds. On Wednesday, October 15, Westmont will match up with the Cougars of Azusa Pacific.