A Warrior goal in the 26th minute constituted all of the scoring in Tuesday’s PacWest women’s soccer game between Westmont (5-2-5, 3-1-2 PacWest) and Hawai’i Pacific (1-8-4, 1-4-3).
Offensively, the Warriors looked revitalized. Westmont took 12 shots during the contest but produced twice as many dangerous scoring opportunities.
“The team played well,” Westmont head coach Jenny Jaggard said. “The quality of the opportunities that the team generated tonight is better than we have done in a couple of weeks.
“We had been talking tactics today and made a couple of little tweaks, and that is really all it takes. We were just inches away from putting away some of those other chances.”
The goal scored by Amarys Machado was her fourth of the season.
“The service came from the left side, skimming past the keeper at the end line,” Jaggard said. “Grace Duckens was sprinting at the back post. The ball went beyond the back post and I thought it was going to go out. Grace reached and somehow managed to head the ball back across the goal frame to Amarys, who was running in and put it in.
“There were quite a few people that had a really good game. Amarys played some of the best soccer I’ve seen. In addition to the goal, she produced a couple of other opportunities with the quality of her movement and her passing decisions. That is a big piece of why we are generating opportunities.
“Daisy had an amazing game in the midfield today – both defensively and offensively. Her movement and spacing and connecting through the middle were really good. She opened up some opportunities for us by being able to get off her man in wider spaces.
“Sydney Reese was out on the wing today. Daisy would feed her and she would beat someone one-on-one, or beat them with a touch, and pass in. She was sending some of the most dangerous services we saw tonight.
“Of course, Taylie Scott and Shayna Stock were defending like crazy. In a couple of those transitional moments, they were really good. Maya Pablos made a couple of important saves tonight too.”
It was the sixth shutout this season for Pablos.
With the win, Westmont finds itself tied with Azusa Pacific (6-4-4, 3-1-2) for fifth place in the PacWest women’s standings. Both teams have 11 points and are one point behind Point Loma Nazarene (8-3-1, 4-2).
The Warriors return to Santa Barbara tomorrow to prepare for the four remaining games of the regular season.
Westmont will play three of those four games on Thorrington Field, beginning with a home game against Academy of Art on Monday, October 30.
The women are scheduled for the second game of the doubleheader with the men kicking off at 12:30 p.m. and the women at 3:15 p.m.