WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 2, 2024) – A collective showing from up and down the lineup caused the Whittier College women's soccer team to shut out Caltech, 2-0 at home on Wednesday night to earn its third win -- and 10th conference point -- of the season.
The highlight goal came with just six seconds left in the first half. Speedy forward
Jessica Jensen (Las Vegas, Nev. / Liberty) chased after a beautiful assist from teammate
Juliana Hodgson (Fullerton, Calif. / Sunny Hills) that resulted in a powerful dagger into the back of the net, just a bit too high for the opposing keeper to stop.
Jensen's goal was far from the only highlight of the night. About 20 minutes prior, senior
Shayla Sakkakhanaune (Clovis, Calif. / Buchanan) caught hold of a nice pass from
Layla Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak) to put Whittier up 1-0. Sakkakhanaune had been Whittier's primary option early on, delivering several chances before finally hitting paydirt in the 24th minute. The Poets kept the Caltech goalkeeper on her toes the whole game with an active offense resulting from quick, direct passes.
The home team compiled 14 shots on goal to Caltech's three. Jensen struck yet another attempt in the first half, this time off a pass from teammate
Madeline Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak). The pass sliced right through the defenders and set the freshman up for the perfect shot, only to be stopped by a great save from the visiting keeper. Another notable attempt came early in the second half from senior
Elizabeth Roybal (West Covina, Calif. / South Hills). The ball trickled past Caltech's final defender where Roybal struck what seemed like a promising punch, but the shot succumbed to another diving stop.
Caltech did not have the only goalkeeper making big plays, however. Poet goalie
Mya Rodriguez (Visalia, Calif. / El Diamante) made a great dive with 14 left on the clock to deflect a tough grounder, and finished the game with three saves and her fifth clean sheet of the season, putting her among the SCIAC leaders.
Head Coach
Derek Hanks and the Poets will next face University of Redlands at home on Saturday, October 5th, at 11:00 a.m.
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