By Ron Smith
October 23, 2025
 
(HONOLULU) Goals by Sierra Martin and Amelia Villa gave Westmont Women's Soccer (4-8, 4-2 PacWest) a 2-1 victory over Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday at the Waipi'o Soccer Stadium. The Warriors and Sharks played under both clear skies and cloudy skies, as well as both rain and rainbows - all in a single game.
 
"That was a hard battle," stated Westmont's head coach Lauren Matthias after the match. "I thought HPU made some good tactical adjustments on us. They were pushing up four onto our back line, so we were matched up four-on-four on our back line. That's something I haven't seen them do against any other team. That was something in the first half for us to figure out how to problem solve. However, I thought we did a good job adjusting to it."
 
Westmont provided the only goal in the first half, scoring in the 33rd minute. Madeline Steinbach served the ball from the right side into the box, finding Martin in front of the goal. Martin raised up and hit the ball downward, sending it into the right side netting.
 
"The first goal from Madi to Sierra was such a pretty goal – one time, ball in," said Matthias. "Madi and Sierra played really good minutes for us today up top."
 
The score remained tied until the 47th minute when Villa made it a 2-0 game. Martin passed the ball along the ground from the left side, finding Villa just above the 18-yard box.
 
"Amelia turned, pushed it past a couple of defenders into a slot, picked her spot, and put it there," recalled Matthias. "It was a simple, nice, composed goal."
 
A goal by Lauren Longworth pulled the Sharks within one in the 69th minute. Longworth received a ball eight yards in front of the goal, then dribbled to her left and out toward the top of the box. Longworth turned and fired from 16 yards out, putting it in the far crease.
 
With the end of the game approaching, the Sharks circled in a feeding frenzy, trying to find an equalizer. Four of their nine shots came in the final 10 minutes. The first, hit the crossbar and returned to the field of play, the final three were all saved by Westmont goalkeeper Ellie Ludwig.
 
Over the course of the game, Westmont tallied 22 shots, placing 10 on goal.
 
"There were some areas where we had a chance to score another goal and we could have rolled through some things a little more," noted Matthias. "Overall, however, I am really happy to get the result. We just have to be a little sharper on some details.
 
"I asked our players at the end, 'Did we learn something?', and they all said, 'Yes.' As long as we learn from that and move forward, I'm all good. We need to learn to control rhythms and tempos and be able to maintain the ball and not be so quick to go and turn it over, especially after we concede a goal."
 
Asked how the trip to the Aloha State has been so far, Matthias responded, "It is fun being here in Hawaii with this team. I told the players before the game that I wouldn't trade this group for the world. I wouldn't sub any of them out. Some of it is the soccer, but more of it is that we love spending time together. I told them that they have to battle and fight every game to spend more time together. So, that is our goal right now."
 
If the Warriors finish in the top four of the PacWest standings at season's end, their time playing soccer together will extend into the postseason.
 
With the conclusion of today's PacWest action, Westmont finds itself in fourth place in the standings with 12 points (three points for a win, one for a tie). Hawai'i Hilo (6-2-5, 4-1-2) and Concordia (9-2-3, 4-1-2) are two points ahead of the Warriors with 14 points and tied for second. Azusa Pacific (8-2-3, 5-1) sits atop the standings with 15 points. Just behind Westmont with 11 points is Dominican (7-1-6, 3-1-2). Point Loma (5-2-4, 2-0-3) sits in sixth place with nine points.
 
Westmont will conclude its play in Oahu on Saturday when it visits the Silverswords of Chaminade (1-3-6, 1-3-2). Kick-off is scheduled for noon HST.