For the second time in as many years, Westmont Women’s Soccer (14-3) has advanced to the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament championship game. The fifth-ranked Warriors earned a spot in the finals with a 4-0 win over San Diego Christian (7-9-2) at Thorrington Field.
Westmont, which is the number one seed in the tournament, will host second-seeded and 10th-ranked Vanguard (16-2-1) at one o’clock on Friday.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard in the 16th minute when sophomore Brooke Lillywhite headed in a sharp pass from senior Mallory Mitchell. The scored remained 1-0 throughout the half but the Warriors struck quickly in the second half.
From the left side of the field, senior Christine Adams passed the ball to senior Kaci Mexico in the middle in the 50th minute. Mexico advanced the ball to Mitchell who scored from 10 yards out. Just over two minutes later, Mitchell scored again, landing a shot from 20 yards out from the left side.
The final goal came with 12 seconds remaining in the game. Senior Angela Brown scored her first collegiate goal from 30 yards out on the right side and the team erupted in celebration.
Westmont and Vanguard have met once during this season with the Warriors claiming at 1-0 victory on October 22 in Costa Mesa. Kelsey Steck scored the lone goal. Each team took 12 shots with the Warriors placing six on frame and the Lions just two. Lauren Dorr earned a shutout in the victory.
Vanguard advanced to the championship game with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Biola (13-6) in the other semifinal game. Nicole Dunn scored the Lions’ goal in the 101st minute.
At stake on Friday is not only the GSAC Tournament Championship, but also an automatic berth in the NAIA National Championship.
