By: Hope Hensley
September 23, 2026
COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Westmont women's soccer team opened Pacific West Conference play on Wednesday afternoon, falling 1–0 to Vanguard at VU Soccer Field.
Vanguard (3-4-1, 1-0-0 PacWest) put heavy pressure on the Warriors in the opening half, outshooting Westmont 9–2 before the break. Senior goalkeeper Ellie Ludwig anchored the Westmont defense, recording five of her game-high nine saves in the first 45 minutes to keep the match scoreless heading into halftime.
"Ellie did her job and then some in goal today," said Westmont Head Coach Lauren Matthias. "She came through with a couple of big-time saves in the first half to keep it level for us, and I'm really proud of how well she's performing."
Vanguard broke the deadlock early in the second half when Jennifer Alvarez found the back of the net in the 51st minute to score the lone goal of the match.
"We weren't happy with how much pressure we put ourselves under in the first half," Matthias noted. "It came down to a lot of unnecessary turnovers, not defending tightly enough, getting caught between defenders, and failing to slide defensively. There are no easy games on our schedule. We have to continue to fight to do the little things exceptionally well, and today those small details compounded into bigger mistakes."
Offensively, Westmont (1-4-3, 0-1-0 PacWest) registered three shots on the afternoon.
"We weren't effective in executing our offensive game plan today," Matthias stated. "We needed to get the ball wide more often, which, when we did, allowed us to advance or work around the middle. We simply needed to be more dangerous in and around the box—getting shots off quicker and looking to attack the goal. That's something we will continue to refine."
Despite the setback, Matthias expressed full confidence in her squad's resilience as conference play continues.
"I fully believe in this group to respond positively going into Saturday," Matthias added. "It's our job as a staff to continue demanding the most from our players and fighting every day to execute those details well."
Westmont returns home on Saturday, September 26, to host Dominican in their second PacWest fixture of the season.
