Santa Barbara – No. 19 Westmont scored the lone goal of the match in the 46th minute to upend Vanguard, 1-0, in a Golden State Athletic Conference women's soccer match on Saturday.
The Warriors improved to 6-1-1 and 2-0 in the GSAC, while the Lions moved to 3-5-1 and 0-2 in league action.
What Happened?: The two teams went into halftime scoreless with Westmont holding a 7-2 advantage in shots. The Lions got shot attempts from Sophia Lorey (SR/La Verne, CA) and Marielisa Hallam (SR/Corona, CA), while goalie Ashley Levi (FR/Brentwood, CA) made two of her four saves in the stanza.
However, Westmont connected for the only goal of the game just 20 seconds into the second half. Teagan Matye started the sequence with a pass to Shayna Stock, who dribbled several yards before evading a defender around the eighteen. Stock delivered a cross into the box, where Amarys Machado timed her run and headed the ball into the net.
Vanguard struggled to find its offensive rhythm with just one second half shot – an attempt from Bethany Urrabazo (FR/Gilroy, CA) that went high – in the 67th minute. The Warriors finished with a 15-3 edge in shots and won the corner kick battle, 5-2.
Levi made a career-high four saves to keep the game close. The freshman netminder owns a 0.50 goals against average over her last four appearances.
What Was Said?: "Despite a rough week, the team showed up and played hard today. I am proud of our resiliency and how players stepped up to the challenge," said Head Coach Lauren Mascaro. "Ashley Levi had a fantastic outing, getting called on to make some big saves and that's really exciting to see her realize her potential. We've got quite the uphill battle in front of us, but this team is more than capable of making noise and doing big things. I'm excited to get back to work with these women and get ready for OUAZ and Arizona Christian next week."
Why It's Important?: Although VU is 0-2 in league play, the Lions play four of their final six conference games at home. VU Is 3-1-1 on its home pitch this season.
What's Next: The Lions host OUAZ on Thursday, October 7 with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.
