Box Score SAN DIEGO -
Sami Swanson was in the right place at the right time as she collected a rebound off the goalie in the 55th minute and deposited it into the net for the only score in Point Loma's 1-0 win over Dominican (CA) in women's soccer on Thursday, Oct. 16.
The victory keeps the Sea Lions perfect in Pacific West Conference play at 7-0-0 (8-2-0 overall). PLNU now leads the conference by five points over California Baptist (5-0-1 Pacwest). The loss drops Dominican to 2-10-0 (2-4-0 PacWest).
The game was even throughout the first half with neither team grabbing the momentum with a goal or their play. It would not be until early in the second half that PLNU would find some rhythm to post the only goal of the match.
Kaiti Freeberg started the attack by splitting two Penguin defenders on the left side of the field. As she broke through she took a shot directed just inside the near post. The goalie came over and got both her hands on the ball, poking it back towards the middle of the field and right to a waiting Swanson who calmly poked it into the net for her second career goal.
With the lead the Sea Lions seemed to relax and wait for the clock to run out. The Penguins were able to get three different quality looks on goal but each time Point Loma goal
Ariel Oriarte was there for the save. She made six saves in the contest for her fourth straight shutout. She also extended her shutout streak to 384:21.
However, despite getting another mark in the win column Point Loma head coach
Tim Hall was not thrilled after contest.
"It was not a good game for our women," explained coach Hall. "Dominican showed a lot of scrap and a lot of heart. We played an average first half and a fantastic 10 minutes right at the start of the second half, then immediately went away again.
"I am baffled of our mental peaks and valleys in a game," Hall continued. "We can play fantastic and absolutely atrociously all in the same game within minutes. It is a tough one for me to understand. Now we got a win and a shutout but the way we are playing is not good enough if we want to keep moving forward. We have to figure something out. We have to play better longer. "
The Sea Lions will have a quick turnaround as their next match will be Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m. against Academy of Art. It will also be a 'pink game' for Point Loma in which members of the team will be wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
