By KACI MEXICO
Jackie Lopez scored two goals, but Westmont came out on the short end of a 3-2 decision against NAIA second-ranked Northwestern, Ohio in a nonconference women’s soccer match Monday at Thorrington Field.
Lopez, a Santa Barbara High alum, gave the No. 7 Warriors a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute and tied the score at 2-2 in the 68th.
Northwestern scored the game winner on a goal by Hannah Baines off a corner kick in the 77th minute.
“We need to do a better job at playing a complete 90 minutes,” said first-year Westmont coach Chantel Cappuccilli. “We were inconsistent in that. We had small mental lapses that caused us to make mistakes and they did a good job at capitalizing on them. We did a good job to get some goals, but we also need to do a better job with finishing our set pieces.’
Lopez’s first goal came off a pass from Brooke Lilywhite. Lopez took a one-time shot from a sharp angle, 10 yards out which hit the inside of the far goal post and ricocheted into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
The Racers answered in the 39th minute with a goal off of a free kick from the 18-yard line by Laura Blanchard.
The Racers pulled ahead in the 45th minute when Vanessa Barcelleiro slipped a ball in behind the Warrior defense to Blanchard who shot low and into the corner for her second goal of the game.
The Warriors evened the score in the 68th minute with a header goal by Lopez off of a beautifully placed free kick by Angela Brown.
“We are very happy with Jackie. We appreciate her efforts and the resiliency that she showed today. She wanted it and went and got those two goals,” said Cappuccilli
The game remained tied until Hannah Baines of the Racers capitalized off of a corner kick in the 77th minute. This goal gave the Racers the lead for good.
“I hope we learn from it and I hope the feeling stings a little bit,” Cappuccilli said. “Not in a way that affects us but in a way that fuels us. I want them to come away from this game, not satisfied, but eager to get after the next game.”
