Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College Women's Soccer team pulled off the biggest road victory of the season Saturday evening as they held off the Regals of Cal Lutheran University 1-0 at Rolland Stadium.
Despite being outshot 25-9 for the game, Whittier (9-5-1, 6-5-1 SCIAC) still managed to get the lone goal coming in the 34th minute off the foot of Kaela Reisfelt (Beverly Hills, Calif.). She would convert a penalty kick, which was gained by fifth year senior Madison Shipherd (Whittier, Calif.) who was taken out by Regal goalie Coral Hasley during a one vs. one situation, who was then forced to hand off the shot to her teammate due to an injury.
This goal would stick the rest of the game as Alexi Cruz (Long Beach, Calif.) would pick up her SCIAC leading sixth shutout of the year as she recorded a season high 14 saves in 90:00 of action.
In the second half, CLU looked for the equalizer taking 11 shots with only one on target compared to Whittier's two. The Regals had a big advantage on corner kicks 8-1 with seven coming in the first half but the Purple & Gold were able to weather the storm and come up with some big defensive stops.
Shipherd led the offense with four shots with all four being on goal.
"Tonight was a big win for us," explained Head Coach Monica Gerardo. "We trained some new tactics for this game and the team executed. We understood the importance of getting this win, on the road or at home-doesn't matter-we needed to win and team pulled through. I'm extremely proud of the preparation and execution. We will enjoy this now but our journey is not over. We need to stay focused, on our goals, one game at a time, that's how we've approached the entire season."
Whittier returns to the field this Wednesday, October 28 in a big SCIAC Showdown with Occidental College with game time set for 7:00pm.
