The 2014 Westmont Women’s Soccer season kicked off today at Thorrington Field with a 4-0 victory over the Spartans (1-3) of Trinity Western (B.C.). The Warriors learned earlier in the day that they were ranked at number two in the NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
“I thought Sophie Judd was fantastic in the back and at moments kept us in the game. Tiffany (Dimaculangan) was great in the middle and I thought Kaci (Mexico) was great up top, holding the ball for us.”
Sofia Smati struck first with what Kiely referred to as a ‘fantastic goal’ in the ninth minute of play. The senior forward corralled a loose ball and fired away from 23 yards out to record the first goal of the Warriors’ season.
Westmont went up 2-0 in the 29th minute after sophomore Grace Lemley crossed the ball from the right side in an attempt to connect with senior forward Carly Holly. A Spartan defender attempted to intercept the ball, but her header redirected the ball into the net for an own goal.
With just 17 seconds remaining before halftime, sophomore Sophie Fuller, who was playing at outside back in today’s game, crossed a ball from the left touch line. Senior forward Kaci Mexico headed Fuller’s pass into the net to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
The final goal came in the 53rd minute with Kelsey Steck rounding up a loose ball and scoring from 12 yards out.
“On the positive side, we scored goals,” said Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely. “In the exhibition games, the question was, ‘How are goals going to come?’ Now, we head into the non-conference season feeling pretty good about our ability to score goals. The goals were what we have been working on and how we scripted them.
“I appreciate that the spine of our team was so strong today,” continued the coach. “We certainly have some kinks to work out and we will get better. For both players and coaches alike, even though it was a 4-0 win, it certainly didn’t feel that way. Trinity had some chances that they missed and it very well could have been a much tighter result. We will look to get better as we head into the game with Northwest (Wash.) on Saturday.”
Saturday’s game will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Thorrington Field.
