WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 5, 2024) – Junior
Juliana Hodgson (Fullerton, Calif. / Sunny Hills) and the Whittier College women's soccer team had to overcome some late dramatics from the University of Redlands Bulldogs on Saturday, but ultimately came away with a 1-0 victory to make consecutive wins this week.
The Poets have now matched their SCIAC win total from a season ago with four, however this time at the halfway point of the SCIAC schedule. The four wins and 13 points are good enough to have the Poets third in the SCIAC standings behind No. 17 California Lutheran University and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the latter of which received votes in the most recent national rankings.
The winning goal came early in the second half on an effort goal from Hodgson, one of the Poets' senior captains. She used her quickness to beat the opposing defender and catch up to a leading pass from sophomore
Madeline Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak), and got a foot on it, only for the shot to be stopped by the opposing keeper. However, the goalie was unable to handle the ball, allowing for Hodson to bury the rebound at point-blank range.
The Poets outshot the Bulldogs 17-6 on the game, and thanks to the efforts of players like Hodgson in the midfield and junior
Emma Tumbarello (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. / Rancho Cucamonga) in the back row, the Poets were able to largely control the pace of the game. However, the Bulldogs came up with two significant offensive spurts, one in each half. The visitors saved their best stuff for last, threatening the Poets in the game's literal waning seconds. Ultimately, the Poets defensive efforts came up big, stalling the Bulldogs out just long enough before the would-be game-tying goal could cross the plane in regulation time. The difference between three points and one point, in this case, came down to a matter of milliseconds, but in this case, fortune favored the Purple & Gold who are now tied for second in the conference standings.
Junior goalkeeper
Mya Rodriguez (Visalia, Calif. / El Diamante) had a huge hand in the clean sheet, making four key stops including a diving stop to her right to keep the Bulldogs off the scoresheet. She has played every minute of every game between the pipes this season.
Head Coach
Derek Hanks and the Poets will be back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 9 when they travel to first-place California Lutheran University, the defending Division III national champions.
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