Jenny Martinez scored a pair of goals and Aolani Rueff added a goal and an assist as Westmont Women’s Soccer (6-2) opened the Golden State Athletic Conference season with a 3-0 win over Hope International (4-4) on Saturday afternoon in Fullerton. The Warriors kept the ball on the offensive end of the field for most of the game, outshooting the Royals 20-1 in the contest.
“The team did a good job of keeping the ball and trying to find good attacking opportunities,” said Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely. “Hope had a good center back and we were also impressed with their goalkeeper. For us to find success, we got out wide, moved the ball around a lot and were trying to look for the best opportunities.”
The Warriors’ first score came in just the eighth minute of play.
“All the goals were fantastic,” said Kiely. “The team applied what we had been working on (in training) and had success with it. That is always fun as a coach. The first goal was off of a corner that Ashley (Correa) hit to the back post. Aolani headed it back in and Jenny was right there to finish from three yards out.”
Both Rueff and Correa were awarded an assist on the play.
In the forty-third minute, Westmont struck again to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.
“We found Kaci Mexico out wide,” described Kiely. “She cut in on her defender and then played back to about the penalty spot for Aolani to finish.”
The final goal came in the sixty-fifth minute.
“Ashley dribbled (down the) line, broke her defender and then played Jenny who was running on to the ball. Jenny finished by putting the ball in the upper-V.”
With the completion of today’s game, the Warriors have reached the halfway mark of their 16-game regular season. Having outscored their opponents 17-5, Westmont has now exceeded by one the total number of Warrior goals scored last year.
In another positive for the Warriors, Melanie Greene returned to the line-up for the first time after suffering an injury in the first game of the season.
“It was very exciting to see Mel back in, looking sharp and fit,” said Kiely. “We are really excited to have her for the next week of games. It was also great to get everyone in and there were great opportunities no matter who was on the field.
“We are looking forward to the next week,” continued the coach. “We have the number 15 team, the number five team and the number one team within eight days. We are thankful two of those are at home and are excited to be in conference play and to play top teams early. It is what we have been training for and we are ready to do it.”
Westmont will begin that eight-day stretch on Tuesday afternoon when they host #15 The Master’s (7-3, 1-0 GSAC) at three o’clock.
