PASADENA, CA. (Sep. 25,2023)- The Poets travelled to Pasadena Wednesday afternoon to take on the CalTech Beavers in a SCIAC battle. Whittier started off well during this match and would eventually win by a final score of 4-2. With this victory the Poets earned their first SCIAC win of the season. 

The Poets once again started off fast and determined this game. This has been their calling card this year, as they like to pepper the opposing goal with a ton of shots early in the game. In the 12th minute, Alanis Cervantes (La Habra, Calif., La Habra HS) found the cutting Katie Alexander (Lakewood, Calif., Vanguard University | Cerritos College) in the box. Alexander found the opening and fired a shot past the Beavers goalie to put the Poets on the board. With her first goal of the seaon Katie Alexander was able to put the Whittier up 1-0. The team would continue to get chances on the offensive side, but no other shots went in and the scored remained 1-0 at the half. 

In the second half, the game shifted from a defensive battle to a scoring fest. Less than 3 minutes into the time the Beavers were able to go on a run down the field and put one in the net to tie the game at 1 apiece. This score though was not backing the Poets down. About 4 minutes later, Layla Traylor (Covina, Calif., Oak HS) did what she has been doing all season and lasered one past the CalTech goalie. This would reestablish the lead for Whittier. After seeing her sister score Madeline Traylor (Covina, Calif., Charter Oak HS) wanted to get in on the action. At the 56th minute mark, Maddie got in great position in the box and found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. Less than 2 minutes later, Cervantes continued to find her open teammates and saw Malia Miller (Juneau, AK, , Junea Douglas | Pennisula College) making a cut. Miller got the ball and placed it perfectly past the Beavers goalie. CalTech managed to get one more past the Whittier goalie, but the final score would be 4-2. 

This was a great victory for Whittier, as they were able to capture their first conference victory of the year after some heart-breaking defeats and draws. Another bright spot was seeing 4 different Poets score goals this game and another have 2 assists. The team was moving the ball well and communicating on both sides of the fields tonight and will look to continue that Saturday when they travel to Redlands. The Poets will be taking on the Bulldogs at 11:00 AM at the University of Redlands.