COSTA MESA -- Taking on the defending national champions is never an easy task, but Vanguard women's soccer almost achieved an improbably good result on Thursday afternoon.  The Lions built up as much of a wall as they could against the Sea Lions of Point Loma but the Pacific Coast Conference leaders found a goal in the second half to leave Costa Mesa with a 1-0 victory.  VU falls to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play, while PLNU improves to 6-1-1, 3-0, to stay in first place.
 
Jordin Holmquist-Wilder made 10 saves on the day, the second-most she has recorded as a Lion.  The back line of Celeste Kiernan, Hannah Caira, Audrey Swanis, and Takara Kiesel proved reliable in keeping PLNU off the board for almost an hour. 
 
 
What Happened? The Lions had the first shot of the game, as VU collected the opening corner kick and the ball found the head of Kennedy Cypher, but her attempt did not find the target.  The Sea Lions started to pile forward after that, as the visitors tallied had five shots over the next 15 minutes.  The Blue and Gold had a solid spell of possession midway through the first but could not generate any opportunities on net, with Point Loma driving forward again after that.  The whole squad held the fort, highlighted by a diving aerial save by Holmquist-Wilder, to keep the score 0-0 at the half.
 
Cypher again had a crack at goal following the whistle to start the second period, but the PLNU goalie made the stop.  The Sea Lions soon racked up three corner kicks and three shots over the next 10 minutes and the pressure led to the deciding moment.  A ball played out wide to Molly Bachman allowed her to skip around a defender at the edge of the box, and whether she was making a cross or taking a shot, it did not matter, as the ball floated into the goal to put PLNU up 1-0.
 
The barrage continued, as the Lions seemed pressed at every turn, but VU was able to keep everything out of the net.  The Blue and Gold made a late swing to tie the game, but shots by Cypher and Rachel Penick could not beat the PLNU goalie.
 
Point Loma outshot the Lions 27-5 with a 12-2 lead in shots on goal.  Cypher had three of the five VU shots, with Bethany Urrabazo collecting the other VU shot.
 
What's Next?  The Lions will take on Westmont in a PacWest contest on Thursday, October 10, at 4:00 p.m.