Third ranked Westmont Women’s Soccer has advanced to the championship game of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament with a 4-0 win over No. 11 Vanguard (15-4).
The Warriors will travel to Irvine for next Friday’s game to face No. 7 Concordia who shares an identical record of 15-0-3 with Westmont. Concordia and Westmont are the only two undefeated teams in the NAIA. In their previous meeting, the two squads played two a scoreless tie though two overtime periods. Kick-off is scheduled for one o’clock.
“It was really fun today,” said Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely. “We asked the team to put it all together today – to play good soccer and to capitalize on their opportunities more than we did in our last game. I felt like they did that.
“Today was a more complete version of us,” continued the coach. “We were efficient in our finishing and the midfield, once again, was very good. Tiffany Dimaculangan had a fantastic day.”
Jenny Martinez started the scoring for the Warriors, drilling the ball into the net in the 14th minute. Martinez received a cross from Dimaculangan, beat a defender, and scored for the first time this season.
“I am very proud of Jenny Martinez. She is leading the team in assists and she has been a large part of our attack. I know she has been frustrated with not being able to put one on the board. She was a powerhouse for us today.”
Martinez, who became the 17th Warrior to score this season, didn’t take long to score a second goal. In the 30th minute, the senior scored on a free kick, sailing the ball over a wall of Vanguard defenders to the near post. K.J. Hornibrook drew the free kick when she was taken down in the box on her way to the goal.
In the 40th minute, Dimaculangan beat a defender to go one-on-one with the Vanguard keeper. Dimaculangan’s shot careened off the right post as the keeper dove to the left. Dimaculangan hustled over to retrieve the ball on the left sideline and drove toward the goal. Her shot bounced of the keeper and deflected off of a defender into the goal.
In the 53rd minute, Sophia Smati recorded her third goal of the season. Kaci Mexico passed the ball to Smati on the right side. Smati fired from 20 yards out, placing the ball in the far corner of the net.
Martinez nearly recorded a hat trick in the 56th minute. Her blistering shot from the right side hit the far post with such force that it crossed back in front of the net before it could curl in for the score.
The Warriors have now outscored their opponents a combined 43-6 and have tallied 14 shutouts including all three games against Vanguard. Westmont’s goalkeeper Lindsey Smith now has eight solo shutouts to go with six shared shutouts with sophomore Lauren Dorr. Her season 0.34 goals-against average has re-written the Warrior record book.
