SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma women's soccer team extended its shutout streak to three and its unbeaten streak to eight with a 3-0 win over Hawaii Hilo on Thursday, Oct. 31.
 
Point Loma broke through with goals by Hailey Clifford and Julia Glaser in the 24th and 26th minutes, respectively. Clifford notched her second goal of the season from deep inside the box when she knocked in a shot with her left foot off a pass by Rachel Carrell. Two minutes later, Glaser extended the Sea Lions' lead to 2-0 when she headed in a cross from Sophia Smith following great pass along the sideline by Ashlee Watkins.
 
Watkins would add another assist on Makenna Herrero's goal in the 75th minute. She laid off a pass to Herrero at the top of the box, and Herrero beat the goalie with a right-footed shot into the bottom net.
 
The defense closed it out with another shutout. Emma Hinson had three saves in the win, including a great 1v1 save late in the second half to preserve the clean sheet. Bailey Cahill made three saves in the loss for the Vulcans.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (10-4-1, 7-0-1 PacWest), Hawaii Hilo (3-6-4, 2-3-2 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
The win allows PLNU to keep pace atop the PacWest standings. The Sea Lions currently have the most points in the standings (22 points) but have played one more match than Biola (7-0-0 PacWest), which won earlier in the day. The loss leaves Hawaii Hilo with eight points and tied for fifth in the standings.

Words from Coach Kiely
On others stepping into scoring roles: "As we have progressed in our style of play we have been able to create more opportunities for more people. We are getting more chances around the goal and we are being efficient with those. Earlier this season we weren't good with our chances, but sometimes you have to battle through that. It can be confidence, repetition or just hard-work. It has been a combination of that for a number of our players recently."
 
On the team mentality: "Much like the New York Yankees this year, we have had a lot of players on the injured list, but the motto has been 'next person up.' We have not had a complete roster for any match this year. We have always been without at least one starter. It has been the next person up. The players have all been ready to do their job when called upon."
 
On the play of the defense: "The backline and Emma have really come together. Emma has put in a lot of work. It all starts with her and works its way up to the backline. Her organization, communication, and dependability have all helped anchor our backline. She is coming into her own. We are also getting people back from injury which helps our rotation and competition. That allows us more accountability and higher standards of our play."
 
On the final home match this Saturday: "We have been talking about this mini four-game stretch, and this is the last one. We have four seniors who have all played important roles throughout different points in their careers and they are all playing very important roles for us right now. They all want to finish well on home turf, and we want to do that for them."

Words from the student-athlete


Scoring Summary
23:45 - PLNU GOAL: Hailey Clifford (Rachel Carrell) [PLNU 1, UHH 0]
25:51 - PLNU GOAL: Julia Glaser (Sophia Smith & Ashlee Watkins) [PLNU 2, UHH 0]
74:48 - PLNU GOAL: Makenna Herrero (Ashlee Watkins) [PLNU 3, UHH 0]
 
News and Notes
> Glaser has now scored in six straight matches (seven goals)
> PLNU is 5-0 in matches that Herrero scores
> This was Emma Hinson's third shutout of the season
> Point Loma has outscored its opponents 12-0 over its last three matches
> The Sea Lions are plus-21 in goal differential in PacWest play (25-4)
> PLNU's shutout streak is now at 325 consecutive minutes
 
Next
The Point Loma women's soccer team will close out its home schedule with a match against Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, Nov. 2. The match will kickoff at 11:30 a.m. with Senior Day ceremonies being held before the match.