SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2023) – Junior
Elizabeth Roybal (West Covina, Calif. / South Hills)'s late goal gave the Whittier College women's soccer team a sense of hope against No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Wednesday evening, but the Poets ultimately fell short of securing key points in the SCIAC standings.
The Poets knew they were in for a tall task with the Sagehens, a team yet to taste defeat in SCIAC competition. However, the visitors gave a strong account of themselves and put their resilience on full display after falling into a 2-0 hole. Less than three minutes after the Sagehens took a two-goal lead in the 50th minute, Roybal responded with a nice goal, her third of the year, that she buried in the back of the net off a pass from freshman
Madeline Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak). Traylor has broken out in a big way in her rookie season, as her eight goals in 10 games currently leads the conference outright. She also has a pair of assists against SCIAC teams after Wednesday, and is continuing to make a strong case for herself as the preeminent freshman in the conference.
With 38 minutes remaining in the game, the Poets put as much pressure on a tough Pomona-Pitzer back line as they could, doubling their shooting output from the first half while upping the level of aggression and sense of urgency. Two of the conference's top playmakers, junior
Layla Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak) and sophomore
Alanis Cervantes (La Habra, Calif. / La Habra) challenged the home team with shots on goal, but were unable to hit paydirt on either attempt. However, the Poets were able to maintain their defensive shape all the while, as junior goalkeeper
Beth Juarez (Whittier, Calif. / California) turned in another strong performance in net with eight saves to keep her team in the game.
Whittier now trails Chapman University by one point in the SCIAC standings for the final spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, with both Occidental College and the University of La Verne nipping at their heels in fifth and sixth-place respectively. Ironically, the Poets will take on the Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 21, for a 7 p.m. game that will surely be the most important of the season to date. Chapman, meanwhile, has a game in hand on Whittier, but will play the second and third-place teams in California Lutheran University and Claremont-Mudd Scripps Colleges in two of those three games.
If Head Coach
Derek Hanks and the Poets can secure wins over both the Tigers and Leopards to end the season, they will stand a good chance of jumping Chapman for the final Postseason Tournament spot.
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