By: Hope Hensley
October 12, 2026
HONOLULU — Despite a dominant second-half performance and a brilliant set-piece goal, the Westmont women's soccer team was unable to dig out of an early two-goal deficit, falling 2–1 to Chaminade University on Monday afternoon at Saint Louis Field.
Chaminade (1-11-1, 1-5-0 PacWest) capitalized early, opening the scoring in the eighth minute on a strike from Shannon Healy before doubling the advantage in the 24th minute via a tap-in from Marianna Carpenter.
"We did not like how we came out in the first half," said Westmont Head Coach Lauren Matthias. "Too many unforced turnovers led to dangerous moments for them. We were also letting the ball drop too frequently and backing away from it instead of approaching it."
The Warriors (2-7-3, 1-4-0 PacWest) responded after the break with an aggressive, physical push. Winning standard 50/50 battles and connecting on key transition passes, Westmont outshot the Silverswords 11 to 7 in the second half and applied continuous pressure on the Chaminade defense.
"Honestly, we didn't really change much at the half—we actually just continued to hammer home the things we knew were going to be important to help us be successful," Matthias noted. "Those were winning our 50/50 battles, following up on the second ball, getting our body between the ball and opposing players, and finding open feet or space to maintain possession. Second half, we began engaging in those 50/50 plays more and connecting the first pass out, which drastically helped us keep possession and create more quality chances."
That second-half urgency paid off in the 61st minute off a beautifully executed corner kick play. Midfielder Ruby Stimer sent a service into the 18-yard box, where junior forward Skyler McNamara laid off a dummy pass to junior midfielder Ellie Gilbert, who ripped a strike into the lower-left corner to bring Westmont within one.
"The goal was perfectly executed by all three players involved—the service, the fake, and the finish were fantastic," praised Matthias. "We have been close on that set piece for a while now, so it was exciting to convert."
Westmont fought relentlessly down the stretch, generating four shot opportunities in the final ten minutes—including two dangerous attempts on goal by Gilbert and defender Madison Ford—but Chaminade goalkeeper Sydney Bakritzes made key stops to preserve the 2–1 result.
Overall, Westmont generated 14 shots (six on goal) and four corner kicks, while senior goalkeeper Ellie Ludwig registered seven saves on the afternoon.
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to get that final one in the net after going down two to come out with points on the day," Matthias added. "The turnaround in the second half was pivotal, but we have to come out better in the first half and set ourselves up in a way that doesn't make it so hard on us. We have one more game out here on the islands, and we look to continue striving for consistency and executing the controllables."
Westmont concludes its Hawaiian road swing on Thursday, October 15, when they take on Hawaii Hilo.
