An equalizer by Amarys Machado in the 49th minute gave #8 Westmont Women’s Soccer (5-0-2) the goal they needed to secure a 1-1 tie with Westcliff (1-1-1) on Monday afternoon at the Orange County Great park in Irvine. The Warriors were clearly showing the effects of playing in their fifth game in 12 days.

“We are obviously very fatigued,” said Westmont head coach Jenny Jaggard. “We have come off a very challenging week. We started a little bit slow and gave them the first goal. That is definitely not the energy level you want. It is really hard to dig yourself out when you are already tired.

“However, I was proud of the battle today. A lot of players stepped up and did the dirty work. It’s not fun playing out of a game like that, but they had the discipline and they did it.”

Westcliff lit up the scoreboard first when Marthe Engelstad headed in the ball off a corner kick from Angelina Espinal in the 19th minute of play. It was only the third goal that Westmont has surrendered this season. 

Thirty minutes of playing time later, Machado took the ball away from a Westcliff defender about eight yards in front of the goal. 

“Amarys was really active today,” noted Jaggard. “She took a ball off their touch, then took a lateral touch and buried it in the low corner. It was a quality goal. She was defending, attacking and doing a lot of work today. She almost got another one later in the game.

“We could have won, especially if we were as fresh as them,” said Jaggard, noting that Westcliff had not played in a week. “There were some very close moments. The game could have easily have been 3-1 in the second half. Their goalkeeper (Ana Martinez Moreno), to be fair, made some amazing saves and kept them in the game. Other times we were just wide or just high”

Westmont outshot Westcliff 25-8, including 9-3 on goal.

The Warriors were scheduled to play another game on Wednesday against Antelope Valley. However the Pioneers informed Coach Jaggard Sunday night that they were unable to play the game. As a result, Westmont will not play again until the start of GSAC play on September 29. That will give Westmont a 17-day span to rest up and recover from a frenetic pace in the non-conference season.