The California Lutheran University women’s soccer team beat Pomona-Pitzer 1-0 on Saturday, Oct. 20 in a turn of events that led to the Regals scoring without shooting.

The Regals started the first half strong with seven attempted shots compared to the Sagehens’ five attempts. Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper Isa Berardo and Cal Lutheran sophomore goalkeeper Gabby Flores both saved three shots during the half.

With neither team able to put away a goal, the game was tied 0-0 at the end of the first half.

“Our effort was there all game from the start…Pushing each other, having water breaks, being all in in every play helped us a lot,” sophomore defender Trinity Martinez said.

In the second half, the Regals attempted seven more shots, but once again came up short, unable to get any past Bernardo.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, senior midfielder Jordan Miller gained possession and tried to beat three Sagehen defenders, before losing possession.

In an attempt to play the ball back to their keeper, the Sagehens scored an own goal. The ball rolled past the keeper, who had misread the pass and come too far out from the goal.

“I was high pressing and I think just all of our efforts were to stay high up and press them and force that turnover that led to the goal,” Miller said.

The Regals held the Sagehens for the last 15 minutes, ending with a 1-0 win. 

“These past practices we’ve just been working on finishing and creating opportunities up top and I think for this game we really showed that,” Martinez said.

First-year defender Danielle Vis said she thought the Regals didn’t play quite as well as they could have.

“You could tell the heat was kind of getting to us. We weren’t focusing as much, making perfect first touches, better passes, so it did affect us a little bit,” Vis said.

Vis said that the Regals will focus on finishing strong and getting better shots off to prepare for their next games.

“Securing our spot for the post-season conference is the biggest takeaway from this game,” Martinez said.

After the win, the Regals improved their overall record to 9-2-5 and their conference record to 7-2-4.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Regals will host University of Redlands in what will be the final game of the regular season as well as senior night.

“Moving forward, I think we just need to keep grinding and playing for each other,” Martinez said.

Alejandra Gonzalez
Reporter