Senior forward Ashley Correa scored both goals as #15 Westmont Women’s Soccer (8-3-1, 4-1 GSAC) defeated #21 Concordia (7-5, 2-3 GSAC) by a tally of 2-1 in a Golden State Athletic Conference showdown. Sophomore forward Mallory Mitchell assisted on both goals.
“There were many implications for both teams,” said Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely. “For them, it could have meant improving their national ranking. It means a chance at a GSAC title for us. To have to play on the road and for us to respond like we did was fantastic. It showed a lot of fight and determination to pull this result today.”
The first goal came in the twenty-first minute when Mitchell headed the ball to Correa whose slide kick put the ball in the back of the net. The goal was critical because there were few scoring opportunities in the game.
“At halftime, we had three shots and Concordia had zero,” said Kiely. “We told the team that the game was going to be won or lost in the middle of the field and they were going to have to do a lot of work there.
“What today showed was both our determination to not get scored on and our determination to score goals,” continued Kiely. “They limited our shots, probably better than anyone else has done, but we made two out of our six shots. We were effective today with our opportunities.”
Westmont went up 2-0 in the seventy-sixth minute when Correa and Mitchell teamed up again. This time, Mitchell crossed the ball to Correa who scored from eight yards out.
Just over a minute later, Concordia was awarded a penalty kick that Kiely described as, “well deserved”. Val Barrios scored on a ball to the left, drawing the Eagles to within one. The PK represented half of the Eagle’s shots on goal in the game.
“Aolani (Rueff) was fantastic today,” noted Kiely. “We put her back in the middle and she helped keep us calm, kept the ball for us and won tackles. Courtney (Stonesifer) had a tremendous game, again. She provided stability and composure in the middle. I thought (goalkeeper) Lindsey Smith was back with us. She has battled through some injuries that have made it difficult for her, but she was very good today.”
In another critical GSAC game, #11 Vanguard (9-2, 5-0 GSAC) defeated #22 The Master’s (9-2-2, 4-1) by a score of 1-0 in a battle of teams without a conference loss. As a result, Vanguard claimed sole possession of first place while The Master’s fell into a tie with Westmont for second place.
On Saturday, Westmont will travel to Phoenix to take on Arizona Christian (3-7-1, 0-5) at 11:30 a.m.
