Westmont’s Aolani Rueff attempts to slow down Vanguard’s Veronica Aguilar during the second half of Tuesday’s match at Thorrington Field in Montecito. (Presidio Sports Photo)
Ninth-ranked Westmont Women’s Soccer (4-3-1) struggled on Thorrington Field today, losing 2-0 to No. 17 Vanguard (5-2) in the teams’ Golden State Athletic Conference season opener.
Both of Vanguard’s goals were scored by Jordan Davidson, a junior transfer from Paradise Valley Community College in Arizona. The first goal, Davidson’s seventh of the season, came in the seventh minute off an assist by Amanda Couch. Davidson received a pass from Coach, dribbled toward the right side of the goal and connected from about five yards out.
The second goal came in the thirty-seventh minute. Megan Hill passed the ball over the top from the back. Davidson took the pass, dribbled 20 yards down the left side of the field, the fired away from 12 yards out.
“For whatever reason, we started unsure and less confident and we got punished,” said Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely. “We spent four days talking about Davidson who was a very fast player and finished two very good goals. We knew it and trained for it.
“I don’t know what happened between the time the last four days preparing and the excitement in the players earlier today – between then and kick-off. Even in some of our players who have seen a lot of time, their first touch wasn’t confident. When you see that in the first five minutes, it doesn’t make a coach feel very good because it is one of the most difficult things to change in a game. Tactically we can move things around and change personnel, but there is not as much as you can do with the mental side of the game within the game, other than try different personnel.”
Westmont held a 14-11 shot advantage, but couldn’t convert those opportunities into goals.
“We had the better part of the game for a lot of it, but even then, no one looked like she really wanted to get to goal aside from Jenny (Martinez),” said Kiely. “I thought Jenny had a great game. We moved her up because I felt like she was the most threatening. She had a great ball through to (Katie) Moyer and a couple of chances herself in the first half.
“I also thought Alison Hensley had a great game,” continued the coach. “She helped cover our back line and got involved in the attack. She was a ball winner and worked hard sideline to sideline and 18 to 18.
“We’ve got to be able to perform in big games,” said Kiely. “As you grow as a program, these are some of the growing pains. You have to learn how to consistently stay on top.”
The Warriors will look to right the ship on Saturday when they travel to El Cajon for a game against the Hawks of San Diego Christian. Kick-off is scheduled for noon.
