The California Lutheran University Regals (4-0-3) narrowly defeated the University of La Verne Leopards (3-3-2) by a score of 1-0 in a tight conference battle on Saturday at William Rolland Stadium.
By handing the Leopards their most recent loss, the host Regals improved their conference record (2-0) thus far in the 2024 campaign.ย
Head Coach Frank Marino, in his 16th season at the helm, said he knows the extreme amount of hard work and dedication that it takes year in and year out to maintain a championship-level team. He said the reigning 2023 NCAA Division III National Champions know that every opposing team will be gunning for the Regals heavily.
โItโs tough, everybody is coming out and playing us hard, weโre struggling a little bit in the first half with some of the pressure and some of what weโre being put under. Right. Weโve got to do a better job of matching the energy and intensity in the first half so that we donโt let teams stay in the game,โ Marino said. โTheyโre playing defending champs so they’re going to come out here and bring it to us and get after us and they did today.โ
With no score throughout the first half, things quickly changed in the 68th minute as first-year forward Jenna Kasarda gave the Regals the lead with her first collegiate goal. Kasarda said she was pleased to see all her hard work come to fruition.
โI definitely improved, past games Iโve not shown out the best I could, but today, I took the opportunity that I had,โ Kasarda said. โThe 15 minutes that I can play in, I put everything out on the line and I got the result I wanted.โย
Senior defender Avery West said one of the keys the Regals have been focusing on is coming out with good energy, not just early on, but maintaining it throughout the course of the match. West said the Regals, performing at the teamโs full potential not just in the first half, but the entire game, has been a team goal throughout the year.
โGoing into the game and realizing that you canโt just have a good second half, you have to have a good both first and second half,โ West said. โSo I think we have to come out hard in both halves, it canโt be just one. And we canโt expect to score late every single game. It has to be right away, we have to get an early goal so we can feel a little bit more comfortable.โย
This is the fourth straight game in which the Regals have not allowed a goal.ย
โWeโre in a good place defensively, weโve defended well, both goalkeepers are doing a great job, our backline is solid. Weโve got to do a better job in the final third of the field and do a better job finishing,โ Marino said. โAnother shutout, weโve given up two goals in seven games. Shutout after shutout is a good thing, so super happy with that.โ
Kasarda said it is important that the Regals give every game everything it has to live up to its reputation as the team to beat.
โThereโs definitely a lot of pressure, every game we come out thinking that the next team wants to beat us so bad, so we keep that in the back of our minds and we play with our whole heart,โ Kasarda said.
The Regals will host Chapman University on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
