The Westmont women’s Soccer team (6-2-1, 2-0-1 GSAC) was unable to maintain a lead against the Eagles of Biola (7-0-3, 1-0-2) and posted a 2-2 tie in their third Golden State Athletic Conference game of the year.
“It was a very competitive environment to play in,” said head coach Chantel Cappuccilli. “It was a physical battle and there were a lot of individual battles all over the field. Overall, it was a well fought game on both sides.”
The Warriors set the tone of the match with a goal off of a corner kick in the 11th minute. “It was really nice to be able to score on the set piece in the first half and set the tone in that way,” reflected Cappuccilli.
Last week’s GSAC Defensive Player of the Week, Angela Brown, took the corner kick and found the head of sophomore Alanna Richards. Richards headed the ball into the goal with pace to score her first goal of the season and earn the Warriors an early lead.
“Alanna Richards had a fantastic game and I am very proud of the way she is playing,” said Cappuccilli. “She makes an impact on the field and is playing with confidence and control. She was the player of the game for me.”
Biola responded in the 33rd minute with a header goal of their own. Rachel Giles crossed the ball into the box from the right side to find the head of Jessie Burns, who scored her 4th goal of the season.
“After Biola scored to tie it up, it was encouraging to see that our mentality never changed in the second half,” noted Cappuccilli.
Westmont regained the lead in the 65th minute when Brooke Lillywhite drove down the right side of the field and crossed the ball to Steck on top of the six yard line. Steck finished a clinical opportunity with a one-time low volley into the bottom corner of the goal.
The Warriors held on to this lead until Jessie Burns struck again in the 80th minute. The goal began when Brianna Mikalson sent a long ball into the center of the goal box. Burns collected the ball and poked it in the goal to tie the game.
The score remained 2-2 until regulation ended and the game went into overtime. “You could feel the tension between the opponents,” said Cappuccilli. “The Westmont-Biola rivalry was there.”
In overtime, the Warriors had seven shots and two corner kick opportunities while Biola did not have any shots or corner kick opportunities. Neither team could score and the game ended in a tie.
“Overall we couldn’t find a clear opportunity in overtime to put the game away,” said Cappuccilli.
“Some teams may come away from a tie and not be impacted by it, but I think our women felt like they lost the game. I am glad they felt that way. They know they had an opportunity to put the game away and I think that is a good mentality to have moving forward.”
Westmont will take on Arizona Christian on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. during homecoming weekend.
