Senior forward Ashley Correa produced a hat trick on Wednesday afternoon at Thorrington Field to help lead #13 Westmont Women’s Soccer (10-3-1, 6-1 GSAC) to a 4-0 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over #21 The Master’s (9-4-2, 4-3).
The win was the sixth in the row for the Warriors who have outscored their opponents 20-1 during the winning streak.
“I am really proud of Ashley for working her way through it,” reported Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely. “In the first few minutes, I could tell she was a little off. We had a word at the sideline together – take a deep breath, enjoy the game and the moment. She stepped up and made a big impact.”
The Warriors’ first goal, which proved to be the game winner, came off of the foot of Mallory Mitchell in the thirteenth minute. Correa dribbled the ball from the right sideline toward the goal and then attempted to cross the ball to the middle of the field. The cross deflected off a defender who then tried to clear it. Her attempt to clear ricocheted off of Correa’s foot toward the front of the goal and Mitchell, who finished the opportunity.
Correa made it a 2-0 game in the thirty-seventh minute. Again, Correa dribbled from the right sideline toward the goal, this time unencumbered by a defender. As Correa began her kick, Mustang goalkeeper Espiritu dove to her right. Correa kicked the ball to Espiritu’s left, beside the near post, for the score.
In the seventy-fifth minute, Aolani Rueff dribbled from the right side then centered the ball to a charging Correa. Correa shot went just inside the right post. Espiritu got two hands on the ball, but not until the ball had crossed the goal line.
The final goal came as public address announcer Kayne Giles counted down the final few seconds of the game. Courtney Stonesifer advanced the ball to Rueff who had her back to the goal in the center of the field. Rueff flicked the ball over to Correa who was charging from the right sideline toward the goal. Correa completed the hat trick by placing the ball in the center of the net.
The shutout was the sixth of the year for goalkeeper Lindsey Smith and seventh for the Warriors.
“I am very proud of our back line to keep a clean sheet,” said Kiely. “Lindsey had probably one of her best games. Even though she didn’t have to make any dramatic saves, she helped to keep us calmed and composed. We played the ball back to her a lot and she was able to clear it out. She took a lot of control in a very positive way.”
With three games remaining in the regular season, Westmont has secured a home playoff game in the Golden State Athletic Conference playoffs which begin in two weeks. If the Warriors win one of the next three games that home playoff game will come in the semifinals because Westmont will be awarded a bye as at least a number two seed.
If the Warriors win their next two games against San Diego Christian (Saturday, Oct. 20 at home) and Hope International (Tuesday, Oct. 23 in Fullerton), they will assure themselves an opportunity to play for a share of the GSAC regular season championship on Saturday, October 27 when they visit Vanguard (11-2). The Lions currently sit atop the GSAC standings with a perfect 7-0 mark, one game ahead of the Warriors.
“What is exciting is that I don’t feel like we have played our best soccer yet,” said Kiely. “I am hoping that we are beginning to peak. It is exciting because we are still getting goals and winning games even though we are not yet playing our best soccer. I am certainly not disappointed with today’s score, but as we look ahead to playoffs, it is exciting to think, “Okay, what is going to be unleashed?”
