Westmont fell behind against a Spring Arbor team that ranked second in the country in total shutouts and ended up falling 2-0 in the quarterfinals at the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championships on Wednesday in Orange Beach, Ala.
The Cougars (22-1-1) scored in the 24th minute and added their second goal in the 73rd.
“Although we didn’t come away with the result, there’s no doubt in my mind that we kept it a competitive game and had our fair share of opportunities to be put away,” said Westmont coach Chantel Cappuccilli.
Spring Arbor came into the game with 16 shutouts.
Renee Broekhuizen crossed the ball to Kaley Buck, who beat Westmont keeper Gabi Haw for a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.
The Warriors created a nice chance in the 38th minute when Maddi Berthoud stole the ball and served a pass into Bri Johnson, who headed the ball just over the crossbar.
Westmont finished the game with five shots on goal, but struggled to connect offensively.
“I think the final pass needed to happen,” Cappuccilli said. “We put ourselves in good positions to find those passes or shots and they didn’t necessarily come off. I think we needed that final pass in order to be effective and dangerous.”
The final goal of the game came in the 73rd minute. Aubrey Schierbeek had the ball about 20 yards out. She made a move on a Westmont defender to give her some space and fired a shot with her left foot that hit the crossbar and bounced into the back of the net putting the Cougars up by the final score of 2-0.
The Warriors concluded the 2017 season with a record of 16-4-2.